


Tapes of Us

by crazymisscarly (MidnightBitesCarly)



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: 4x16, Because we all agree that Betty Cooper would NEVER, Bughead baby, Bughead having bigger problems than their own sex tape or pregnancy, Canon up to 4x16, Gang Wars, Kidnapping murder mysteries, PTSD, Parent Bughead, Pop Tate's Chocklit Shoppe, Sex Tape, Southside Serpent Toni Topaz, Teen Pregnancy, Yale - Freeform, bughead - Freeform, pregnant betty, season 5, stonies, the watcher - Freeform, voyeur tapes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:01:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 178,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23428144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightBitesCarly/pseuds/crazymisscarly
Summary: Betty and Jughead are hiding a secret, but the rest of Riverdale is talking about them for a very different reason...Jughead is accused of creating child pornography after his sex tape with Betty is released. Meanwhile, Betty is trying to cover up her teen pregnancy, and the Jones-Cooper-Smith family are trying to hold themselves together.And still the Voyeur of Riverdale is lurking in the shadows... waiting to make their next move...But while the fallout of news of their upcoming parenthood may be a lot to process, Betty and Jughead are fast discovering that dealing with it is going to have to wait.Because, it seems, someone is watching them around every corner... and the whole town of Riverdale is about to be challenged in ways that may leave it in ruins.————Cheryl, Toni, Charles, Polly, Reggie, FP, The Serpents and the Kids at the Community Centre all get story lines.
Relationships: Alice Cooper/FP Jones II, Archie Andrews/Veronica Lodge, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones, Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz, Miss Grundy/Jail (just kidding), Polly Cooper/Reggie Mantle
Comments: 231
Kudos: 241





	1. The thing she told me

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all, this is my first time posting to AO3 after years of stalking the site. I'm isolating while not at work and am very obsessed with Riverdale at the moment. Particularly the idea of what could happen if Betty and Jughead’s sex tape was released. Enjoy!
> 
> The italic monologuing is meant to be Jughead's narration.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know Josie is technically no longer at Riverdale High, but this fic is meant to pick up about 2 months after episode 4x16 and it’s my headcanon that’s she’s going to return for the last few months to get her high school diploma - I started writing it before the final three episodes came out; so they are being largely ignored, but certain elements from those episodes may appear in later chapters. 
> 
> Check out my authors notes in chapter nine for a MANIFESTO on my thoughts for episodes 17-19. 
> 
> If you’re a BARCHIE fan this fic is NOT for you

_For the people of Riverdale, life plateaued into a blissful state of uneventfulness. It was normalcy incarnate, with the soon-to-be high school graduates at Riverdale High alternating between studying for finals, working and dining at Pop's, engaging in carnal activities, and running illicit, semi-legal operations._

_My own live-in muse wore her lemon-yellow diner doll uniform like a flower wears its petals, and glided through Pop's with trays of milkshakes to the delight of gleeful children and adults alike… her smile almost as alluring as the curve of her waist, which only this morning I held in my –_

" _Juggie,"_ Veronica's mocking of his pet name snapped Jughead out of his aroused meditation. "Please refrain from perving on my waitresses. We take sexual harassment seriously in my establishments, and the sultry look on your face almost deserves jail time."

Archie laughed and tried to cover up the fact that he was mildly choking on his French fry. "I think having a girlfriend that works at Pop's is Jughead's ultimate life goal, Ronnie."

Veronica had a cheeky look on her face. "Yes, well… just keep in mind while Betty's on late shift tonight that there _are_ security cameras in here now. You know, just in case you happen to still be here. Not that I'm accusing you of bending any diner girls over this very table last weekend or anything…"

"Ronnie!" Archie sounded and looked appropriately scandalised. Veronica most certainly did not.

Jughead tried to smother the anxiety that poked its head up at the mention of _Betty_ and _Cameras_. "Well, what can I say? I find the entertainment at Pop's to be far superior to _La Bonne Nuit_."

"Don't let Josie hear you say that," Archie was grinning now. "She's been in the music room at school every day for the last three weeks to prepare for her final performance."

Jughead's attention went back to his writing as his friends discussed how Veronica could replace Josie when she moved to New York for college.

Ah, college. A year ago he'd had no intention of even applying; all the insanity that lived and breathed in Riverdale looked like it was going to force him to remain as the Southside Serpents' leader just to keep everyone from killing each other – or themselves. But getting into Yale had given him a new educational drive he didn't know was inside him. He wanted nothing more now than to embrace this new collegiate adventure, with his favourite blonde vixen by his side. His dad was so proud to see his child be accepted into an Ivy League University and Jughead hoped he'd be able to properly earn that pride.

But nobody had earned Yale more than Elizabeth Cooper. And she had been happier than Jughead had ever seen her in all their years of friendship. Apparently, Yale hadn't heard that Jughead had mysteriously 'died' (then come back to life), so his position at the university was still available when he, on a whim, had tried to enrol in classes last week. And so Betty was ecstatic - both her _and_ Jughead were accepted into Yale, and that meant that her admission had absolutely nothing to do with Jughead’s spot being open. She'd gotten in on her own merit, in spite of everything life had thrown at her. In spite of her affiliation with the Black Hood, and despite being framed for cheating.

The iconic teen dream team were so close to living their tentative plans of solving all the mysteries in Connecticut (and eating a lot of pizza). Everything was falling into place in a way Jughead could never have dreamed…

So, it shouldn't have come as a surprise that the town of Riverdale was once again about to be shaken up. And once again, Betty and Jughead were going to be the centre of the theatrics.

....

_Two brothers, separated by nearly a decade of life experiences, both good and troublesome, were about to become connected in ways no brothers should be._

_In the age of social media, sharing images, messages and videos is easier than actually communicating with other human beings. Consider this unsettling truth: the mass exposure of your most intimate experiences is just one tap of the thumb away._

_I'd let myself become complacent, the knowledge that I'd destroyed the only footage of one of these such intimate moments giving me a sense of security. I was about to find out the hard way that in this technical age, no evidence is destroyed forever._

_And my brother Charles was about to enter into an investigation that threatened to destroy the freshly sewn threads that connected him to his birth family._

"Agent Smith?"

Charles looked up at his partner, Agent Robert Johnston. "Yes, Agent?" he stood up from the desk chair he was sitting at, where he had futilely been re-reading his notes on the Mysterious Video Tapes that had shown up at the front doors of several Riverdale Homes. _Still no new leads…_ he begrudgingly admitted to himself.

Agent Johnston looked uncomfortable. "Your sister… Elizabeth is it?"

"Betty – and she's one of them, yes." If he weren't so nervous as to the reason his partner was bringing his sister up, he may have smiled - he now had _three_ sisters after almost 30 years of believing he was alone.

Johnston shifted his stance and nodded towards the smaller enclosed room they used for questioning. "We need to talk. Now."

Across town, Jughead was having some rather confusing interactions with the Riverdale Bulldogs.

In his Freshman and Sophomore years when he walked alone through the school hallways the Bulldogs often used the opportunity to push and shove him around, make fun of the emo loner vibe he gave off, or try to goad him into fighting. Being a conscientious objector at the time, he tried to avoid getting into fights – mainly because of the anger issues he'd had on and off, and his fear that if they started a fight he _would_ finish it, but also because he was just so much smaller than the football players. It wasn’t a gamble he was willing to make.

Since joining the Serpents, and especially since leading them, the Bulldogs (at least, those who weren't now his actual friends) tended to leave him alone. But never in his four years in high school had he ever had any interactions like the ones he'd had on his way to his lunch period.

"Jones," it was some giant in their blue and yellow varsity jacket, "My _man._ Didn't know you had it in you."

Jughead was momentarily speechless, and he didn't get time to recover before another member of the football team had come and pat him on the back. "You're something else, my friend. Damn."

"Thank you, people I haven't talked to since elementary school." Jughead turned towards the recreation room in search of Betty and tried to ignore whatever scheme they were planning. But he didn't make it into the room before he heard another blue-and-gold cladded male call out "Oh, _Juggie,_ I didn't realise you were such a thorough and attentive lover."

Disturbed by that last comment, Jughead ignored them and opened the door. He spotted Archie, Veronica, Kevin, Cheryl and Toni hanging out on the lounges inside and moved to join them. "Hey guys, have you seen Betty? I just had the weirdest – _why are you all looking at me like that?"_

All eyes were on Jughead as he entered the room, both his friends' eyes and the eyes of the other seniors in the room. There were some whispers and death glares – and he swore one of them _winked_ at him.

Cheryl was the first to talk. "Puh-lease spare us the faux confusion, you slithering Judas."

"Cheryl…"

"No, Archie. I'm not listening to your blind puppy dog loyalty. Don't pretend you're not thinking the same thing we all are."

Jughead looked between the two of them, his brain failing to catch up to what his eyes were seeing. " _Guys,_ will somebody please explain to me what's—"

"Jug."

Hearing her voice, as always, was like the one steady flame in a confusing mess of darkness. But when Jughead turned to Betty, her face conveyed anything but the happiness he felt around her.

"Betts, what happened?" he asked, concerned, ignoring the scoffing he heard behind him – was that Kevin? He hurried towards her, just to be near her and offer her some kind of support. He rubbed the side of her arm. Her eyes were bloodshot, and a little puffy. The faintest of mascara lines ran down her face; it looked like there'd been makeup on her face this morning which had now become a powdery mess upon her red cheeks.

Instead of answering she led him out the door, and towards the Blue and Gold office. Jughead tried not to think too much of it, but he heard wolf whistles as Betty dragged him inside.

"Betty, what's going on, are you okay? Everyone in this school is acting like we're in Pan's Labyrinth."

"I don't know what you're talking about Jug, but I need to tell you something…"

_And the next words that came from her pretty pink lips? Well, they were enough to make my heart stop. They were so beyond the curse of any serial killer, harder to digest than the meatiest of murder mysteries.  
_

_The Black Hood, The Gargoyle King, The Red Dahlia, The Man in Black – none of the trials of our greatest foes were enough to prepare us for the mess that we had gotten ourselves in._

_And yet, Betty's little secret was about to become the least of our worries, and we were about to find out why the whole school had decided that today, of all days, we were worthy of their attention._


	2. The Upload and the Downfall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Archie finds Jughead at the diner. 
> 
> Veronica and Kevin prove they are supportive friends.

"I knew you'd be here."

Jughead didn't look up from his untouched milkshake as Archie took a seat across from him. "I'm nothing if not consistent." Jughead responded; his voice sounded hoarse.

Archie tried pretending not to notice, but he could tell Jughead had been crying. His eyes were red and moist, though it was hidden well by the fact he was looking at his milkshake like it had poisoned his dog.

Archie sighed. "Do you want to talk about it? The whole school already is…"

Jughead kept glaring at his milkshake. "How do they even know about it? Betty said she didn't tell anyone… and I sure as hell haven't said a thing." In fact, Betty had decided to leave school early as soon as she'd finished talking to Jughead. She was feeling too sick to go to class, and she wanted to get her head in the right space before her shift at Pop's, though Jughead was certain if she talked to Veronica she'd let her have the day off. Jughead had decided to bolt from school too but hadn't wanted to invade the "space to think" Betty had requested by following her home, hence his excursion to the diner. It seemed unlikely that Betty had mentioned anything to anyone on the way out.

"I mean…" Archie's concern was fast becoming annoyed confusion. "You _did_ upload it. Did you really think nobody would notice? You know what our high school is like, Jug."

Jughead's head finally snapped up. "Upload…? Arch, what are you talking about?"

"Wait, what are _you_ talking about?"

"Betty, obviously…"

"Yeah… me too…"

"Yeah… and how she's…" Jughead looked over his shoulder quickly, then met Archie's eyes, "pregnant."

"Wha…? _Betty's pregnant?!"_

"Keep your voice down!" Jughead whispered sharply. "Why do you look so surprised? You just told me you know, that everyone knows."

"Jughead… that's really, _really_ not what I'm talking about."

But before Archie could explain any further, the bell to the diner jingled and none other than Jughead's half-brother, Charles, walked inside. He scanned the shop until he saw the boys sitting in their booth and cautiously approached them.

"Jughead…" Charles' voice betrayed his wariness. "Archie." He nodded. He looked over his shoulder then took a seat next to Archie. "There's no way to sugar coat this, Jughead, so I'm just going to have to get right to it, if you're alright with that."

Jughead shared a confused glance with his friend. "Okay, Chuck, what's the problem?"

Charles sighed. "I'm supposed to be arresting you today, but I assured my team that you would come in to the station willingly for questioning."

" _Arresting_ me?! What did I do?"

"The charges being considered are _production and distribution of child pornography_ , and _coercion of a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct_. But that's just from what we've seen so far, there are more potential charges that could be laid on you once the child protection team join us tomorrow."

Jughead was speechless.

"I'm only telling you this because you're my brother… but the evidence we have is pretty damning, Jughead. You're going to need a _really_ good lawyer if this goes to court. The minimum sentence for a guilty verdict is fifteen years."

With Jughead still frozen on the spot, Archie took over. "Lawyer, right, okay… I'm going to call my Mom and have her meet us at the station."

"I think that's a perfectly acceptable plan, Archie. I'm going to have to take Jughead with me alone, but you're more than welcome to be an emotional support person for him and meet us at the station with your mom. You'll need to stay in the waiting room though."

"Charles." Jughead was looking up at his brother, fear in his eyes. "I don't… _produce_ child porn. Or _coerce_ minors into 'sexually explicit conduct', like… what? Does that mean sex? Where did this even come from? Am I dreaming right now? And anyway…" Jughead looked down at the milkshake again. "I've only ever had sex with Betty, so whatever evidence that apparently exists must be fabricated… or planted? Right?"

Charles stood up. "Jughead, right now we're being watched by some of my team members. Like I said, I told them I'd be able to bring you in willingly, so you're not under arrest, but we need to head out to my car now. In the meantime, I need you to _really_ adjust your expectations about what kind of evidence we have. I can't say anything else until we get to the station, because now everything we discuss is also potential evidence." He waited for Jughead to stand up as well, then they made their way to the door.

"Archie," Jughead called out to his friend just before walking out. "Don't tell Betty."

.... 

_Secrets. They're difficult to keep when they're the only thing on your mind. One little slip of the tongue, one Freudian blunder and suddenly you've spoken words that can't be erased from the ears that heard them._

_But in her later teen years Betty Cooper had become an excellent secret keeper. It was in her nature to hold back the darkness, and the lies; she knew how to squash secrets under her feet and kick away the evidence._

_And so she did what she knew she was good at. After spending an hour crying and feeling sorry for herself in her bedroom, she showered, dressed for work, applied makeup, and started studying at the dining table. She blocked out the negative thoughts and focused on making sure that when members of the Cooper-Jones household started arriving home, she would be ready to keep up the charade of normalcy, the appearance that absolutely everything was fine…_

Kevin Keller wasn't one to knock on his friends' doors before walking in and announcing his presence, so when Veronica had dragged him with her to Betty's house after school, he felt zero qualms about walking straight through the door. Betty had jumped in shock, then quickly composed herself and smiled at her friends.

"Hi guys, coming to study with me? I was working on Chemistry but I still have some stuff to go over for AP Lit."

Kevin and Veronica shared a concerned glance. "B, you don't have to pretend to be okay with us." Veronica said gently, walking over to the dining table to sit next to Betty. Kevin followed her lead. "We were really worried when you didn't come back to class, not that I can blame you. I know this isn't going to help too much, but Cheryl has gone into student-body-dictator mode; anyone who talks about _it_ is getting reported to Mr Honey _and_ she made an announcement that anyone caught sharing it or having it on their phones would be charged. I'm not sure how she hopes to achieve that, but Cheryl Blossom is, as always, a force to be reckoned with. Me and Kevin just wanted to come and check up on you, and I wanted to tell you that no matter what happens we will support you."

"She also came over to murder Jughead."

"Yes, _thankyou_ Kevin. While I'll admit when I found out about it, I was… _enraged_ , I'm choosing to emotionally support my best friend during this crisis. No need for us to be charged with Jughead's murder twice in one year." That last statement was accompanied by a smile, an attempt at humour, but neither Kevin nor Betty laughed.

_The difference between me and Betty? She could be betting against a royal flush with a hand of 2s and 7s, and she still wouldn't break her poker face. Nothing in Riverdale surprised her anymore, least of which the possibility that somebody had found out about her secret –_ our _secret. Had someone overheard our conversation in the Blue and Gold office? Did someone see her in the shady Greendale drug store last night and assume correctly?_

_But after the year Betty had, she was keenly aware that one could be so focused on their own assumptions that they missed the reality of a situation. Wording was everything. Veronica and Kevin hadn't_ actually _specified their concerns. So she was free to deny, deny, deny. She wasn't ready for the world to know that she was becoming a mother, and for as long as she could help it, the world wasn't going to find out._

"What on earth are you guys talking about?" she reached into her pencil case to take out a purple highlighter and opened her notebook. "I appreciate all of your support, but I don't know what this 'it' is that you keep mentioning, or why I'm suddenly being publicly defended."

"B, come on, we _know_ already. That's why you dragged Jughead off earlier, to tell him off for doing that to you, right?" Kevin said.

Betty clenched her left fist tightly, but her face remained smooth. "Doing _what_ to me? I needed Jug's help with our final article before we graduate. And we're trying to work out which of the juniors should take over the newspaper next year. Jellybean's already told us how excited she is to try and get involved during her freshman year - did you guys know she could write? She's more into essays than creative pieces, but that literary talent really does run in the Jones family."

"Betty, seriously, please don't push us away, you don't have to be embarrassed or ashamed of it."

"Yeah, B, we're here for you and we're going to make sure nobody messes with you over this." Veronica reached over to take Betty's clenched hand.

"Kev, Ronnie, I genuinely do not know what you're talking about. I came home early because I was feeling a little sick and wanted to get freshened up before my shift at Pop's. It starts in an hour by the way so if you want to study at all we better get busy now."

Veronica looked unimpressed. "Okay, fine, we'll play dumb if you don't want to talk. But I'm still having _words_ with your boyfriend. Who I believe should be banished to the couch for all eternity at the minimum, and _castrated_ at the most."

Betty tried to sort through her and Jughead's public interactions over the past week to find something that might have upset Veronica. The only thing she could think of was when she was cleaning the tables at Pop's late at night and Jughead was the only customer in the store… "V, is this about the other night at Pop's? I'm sorry for traumatising you, I just completely forgot you and Cheryl were still downstairs. But honestly that was my fault, not Jughead's. I know he can't resist me in that uniform and he was sitting there just writing and I was trying to get his attention so I started teasing him and –"

" _No_ that's not what I'm talking about, B. I'm talking about that video he posted!"

There was a pause. For a full second, Betty felt a surge of relief. Veronica and Kevin didn't know about the baby. But then the dreaded realisation that she _really_ had no clue what was going on with them sunk in. "What video?"

"You.. you really don't know what we're talking about?" Kevin's eyes were wide.

"No, Kevin, what video?"

Veronica bit her lip. "Betty… Jughead posted a video online of the two of you having sex."

"No… no he didn't. He _wouldn't_."

"He _did_ Betty." Kevin chimed in.

"No, there's no way."

Kevin pulled his phone out and typed for a few seconds. "Look." He handed it to Betty.

Betty's eyes widened when she realised what was on Kevin's phone. She could feel her heart beating in her ears as her brain processed what she was seeing, and what she was hearing.

It was her and Jughead sitting on his bunk at Stonewall Prep, facing each other. Jughead saying: _"Hey, I was thinking maybe if the storm clears up by tomorrow morning, that we could go home for the weekend."_ And her response: _"Sure. In the mean-time how… how will we stay warm tonight?"_ Then Jughead's sly smile as he pushed all the candy wrappers to the floor and pulled her on top of him. Her laughter as he slipped her shirt over her head and started kissing down her neck… then lower. Rolling them over so he was on top. Then his shirt coming off. Jughead slowly pulling her pants down and tossing them across the room, then taking her underwear off with his teeth. Their hands locking together as his head dipped between her thighs… Betty closing her eyes, moaning: " _Juggie…"_

Betty locked Kevin's phone.

So, this is what they had seen, why they were angry with Jughead. Suddenly everything clicked in her brain. Veronica and Kevin's concern and reassurances, Cheryl's protective behaviour at school… she'd been so overwhelmed all day while trying to find the right time to tell Jughead she was pregnant, that she'd brushed off the nasty looks from the girls, and the whispered _"slut"_ and catcalls she'd received from the boys, dismissing them as her imagination going into overdrive with paranoia.

But now she knew. She knew without a doubt that they were reacting to her that way because they'd seen the video of her and Jughead having sex in his dorm room. She _did_ feel embarrassed now. And awful. So uncomfortable that she was sick to her stomach.

Wait, no… she actually _was_ sick to her stomach. She barely made it to the kitchen sink when she started heaving. Veronica rushed to her side to hold her hair back.

"Oh, B, I'm so, so sorry. We're going to make him pay for this…"

"No." Betty cut Veronica off. "This wasn't Jughead. I know it wasn't." She slid down to sit on the floor in the kitchen, trying to catch her breath. Veronica and Kevin joined her.

"Betty, I want to believe the best of Jughead too, but that video was shared to a porn site that is specifically for men to post intimate videos without the girl's knowledge… and the account that posted it is literally called _JugheadJones2001._ " Kevin patted Betty on the shoulder. "The name of the video is 'I recorded my horny high school girlfriend'."

"Well, it's someone doing a really good job of pretending to be him." Betty brought her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around them. "You guys don't understand… when Jughead was at Stonewall, his roommate recorded us having sex to blackmail him into leaving the school. Jughead literally gave up his position at Stonewall because he didn't want _me_ to be exposed like that… he got accused of plagiarising one of his short stories and refused to defend himself because the guy threatened to post our sex tape online if he did. There's absolutely _no way_ Jughead would put that video anywhere but an incinerator."

"Oh my God Betty, why didn't you tell us?"

"Because it didn't matter! Jughead did what Brett asked him to do, so the sex tape didn't get released, and then Jug almost got killed because he went off alone with Brett to try and make him hand that tape over. After that I was too busy trying to catch the psychos who tried to frame me for Jughead's murder to even think about telling someone else about the tape. And in any case, the police confiscated all the videos Brett had recorded of other classmates as evidence against him, but Jughead destroyed our sex tape before the police even got to it. I don't know how this video can exist…"

"Brett must have had copies saved elsewhere just in case." Veronica contemplated.

"Yeah… but why would he release it now?"

"Revenge, maybe? His trial likely isn't going to go well for him…"

"That's probably it…" Betty paused to think for a minute. "But I don't think Brett had any intention of actually posting it anywhere. He just got off on the power he had over the people he'd recorded. Maybe… maybe it was someone else." Betty was suddenly filled with determination. "I think it was Donna. I threatened her a few weeks ago."

"But how would Donna have gotten a copy of it?"

Betty groaned and put her head in her hands. "I don't know V, I need to talk to Jughead about this. I don't think he knows the video got released, but if he does then he's probably freaking out."

"I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions about him… and for jumping down your throat about it." Veronica said regretfully, wrapping her arms around Betty's shoulders.

Betty leaned in to Veronica. "Thank you for caring, V…" Betty only now realised that tears were running down her face.


	3. Brought in for questioning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The FBI question Jughead about his involvement in leaking the sex tapes.

Chapter 3 - Brought in for questioning

_It wasn't my first time being 'brought in for questioning' to the police station. The first time led to me spending a few months in Juvie for arson. The second time was two years later when a car was set on fire on the Northside while I was visiting Archie. The third time was when Sheriff Keller was investigating Jason Blossom's murder._

_Being from the wrong side of the tracks gives you an 'assumed guilty' card the second you walk through the police station doors. And if you don't have a good lawyer (which most people like me couldn't afford), implicating yourself – like I'd done when I was a terrified ten year old – is horrifyingly easy._

_But this time I was going in ready. Archie's mom was a good lawyer, and I now lived in the Northside. When I turned eighteen my juvenile records should have been sealed, so ideally that couldn't be used against me. I was not about go to jail for something I didn't do._

_After all, I had more than just myself to consider now…_

"Why haven't they called him in yet." Archie asked his mother.

"There's about thirty different reasons off the top of my head that I can think of, and none of them are anything to stress about." Mary stated confidently. "You boys both need to calm down. Getting all wound up isn't going to help anything, it's certainly not going to help _you_ Jughead. You need to start talking to me. Is there anything, anything at _all_ that you can think of that might have made them believe you're involved with something like this? I need to know so I can defend you properly."

" _No,_ Mrs Andrews. There's nothing. This is insanity." Jughead pulled off his beanie and ran his fingers through his hair.

Mary's eyes narrowed on Archie. "You have a guilty look on your face. Out with it. What do you know?"

Archie gave Jughead an apologetic look. "Well, what about that video of you and Betty?"

"What kind of video?" Mary asked, at the same time Jughead said: " _What video?!"_

"You know… the one you sent half the school year the link to on facebook last night."

"What are you talking about? I haven't sent anything to anyone."

"Was it a sex tape?" asked Mary coolly.

Both boys looked at her. "Um… yeah, mom, it was." Archie said cautiously. Jughead stared at him.

"If either you or Betty are under eighteen in the video, even though you're over the age of consent, that is still considered child pornography, because at seventeen you're still a minor when it comes to sexually explicit videos."

"But me and Betty don't have a sex tape—" Jughead suddenly froze, all colour drained from his face, and his breathing became laboured.

"Talk to me, Jughead." Mary reached out to give Jughead's hand a squeeze.

"No… that can't be it. I destroyed it. My dad _watched_ me destroy it." His voice rose a few octaves higher. He tried to breathe in through his nose slowly, and then out through his mouth. He hadn't had a panic attack since the night his mom had left with a crying Jellybean, and shouted at his dad that they were done and she wasn't coming back until he 'sorted his shit out', _and_ how her son was 'going down the same useless path as his good for nothing father'. Jughead gripped his beanie tighter, trying to ground himself.

"So you _did_ make a sex tape of you and Betty?" Mary asked. She sounded concerned, but not judgmental.

Jughead shook his head. "No, it wasn't me. My roommate at Stonewall Prep used to record our classmates having sex to blackmail them into doing what he wanted to. I found out he made one of me and Betty so I followed him into the woods at that party after I got expelled. I was planning to… to _convince_ him to give me the tape so he couldn't use it against us anymore when I exposed all the crap the Stonies were doing in their secret society. But that's the night him and the others tried to kill me."

Mary nodded. "Okay, this is good, Jughead, we have something to work with here. And I assume you and Betty were underage in this video, then?"

Jughead thought about it. "I haven't actually seen the video, so I don't know for sure how old I was… but Betty was definitely seventeen." Betty had actually turned eighteen while Jughead was hiding in Dilton Doiley's bunker, pretending to be dead. _Long_ after any videos could have been recorded, since Betty had refused to even make out let alone have sex with him in the dorm room after Brett had implied he'd recorded them.

"Um… well I'm not saying I watched it, I swear I turned it off when I realised what it was, but at the start of the video you and Betty were talking about going home for the holidays… if the storm cleared up?" Archie offered.

Jughead groaned. "Crap, it was Thanksgiving Night. I was already eighteen. That might explain the 'coercing a minor' charge, then." Jughead's cheeks went from white to red. He remembered that night vividly. They hadn't had sex for a number of weeks, and they both wanted to take their time… _appreciating_ each other. In fact, he particularly remembered it was the first time he and Betty had climaxed at the same time – _together_. He felt violated. If his classmates' actions today were anything to go by, most of the school had seen it. Their most personal, raw, emotional, passionate love making since the very first time they'd had sex, out there for the world to see.

"Alright, Jughead, if it _is_ this video they have on you, then we can definitely make a case for your innocence. The good news is that they haven't arrested you, whether that's because they need solid proof linking you to having produced the video, or because Charles has pulled some good old-fashioned nepotism. You haven't been charged yet and you're not on trial."

Jughead and Archie shared a look. They actually knew the only reason he hadn't been charged was because, as Mary had suggested, Charles had pulled some strings with the FBI. And Jughead had a very bad feeling that whatever evidence they had was enough to send him away for years.

"Forsythe Jones? We're ready for you."

The three of them turned towards the FBI agent, a stocky brunette with uneven facial hair and a stoic expression. Jughead and Mary stood up and followed the agent into one of the interrogation rooms.

Charles, meanwhile, had made contacting his father his priority. He knew Jughead was up shit creek without a paddle, and he wasn't about to let him swim through it alone.


	4. FP and the Jones children

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FP thought his day couldn’t get any more bizarre...
> 
> And then Charles called him.

Chapter Four - FP and the Jones children

FP Jones had no way of knowing when he woke up that morning that by the end of the day, all three of his children would be giving him a headache.

The headache started with Jellybean. A call from Riverdale Middle School's Principal had him leaving work early that day to come in for a parent-teacher meeting. When he arrived at the school he sent a text through to Charles saying that he'd have to delay their 'urgent' briefing by an hour or so.

Almost immediately Charles had called him, but he was already inside the office and didn't want to delay whatever was happening with JB.

His headache got worse when he realised Charles wasn't going to give up calling until FP answered, and so he had to pretend to ignore the buzzing vibrations in his pocket while the Principal lectured him about JB's behaviour.

After twenty long minutes, they were in agreeance that there was no excuse for fighting, and Jellybean should receive detention for the next two afternoons. He promised to give her a stern talking to (mainly to convince the principal not to suspend her) and proceeded to the front doors where JB was now waiting for him, a sour look on her face and her eyes on the ground.

"You better start explaining, kid. Your principal wanted to suspend you back there." FP led his daughter out the door and towards his police cruiser. "Fighting, JB? Really? That's not like you." Jellybean had a generally placid temperament, only becoming feisty if she felt someone she loved was in immediate danger.

They both got inside the car and FP started the engine. Jellybean was glaring off into the distance, her arms crossed in front of her as she huffed a furious sigh. "I didn't like what that… _cow_ was saying about Betty and Jughead."

"You got into a fight over Betty and Jughead? I'm glad you're standing up for your family, JB, but words can't hurt you. Sometimes you just have to take a deep breath and walk away." _Not that I'm a great example of that,_ FP thought, _but do as I say child, not as I do._ "What did some bitchy thirteen-year-old girl have to say about your brother that got you so wound up, anyway?"

Jellybean was instantly fired up. "She was saying my brother is nothing but a drug running gang banger who should have done the world a favour and died when everyone thought he did."

 _Kids are assholes,_ thought FP. "Well I understand completely why you're angry about that, Jellybean—"

"And _then_ Carla Clayton came and stuck her nose where it didn't belong and started saying how gross it is that I live with a wannabe-porn star slut like Betty. _And_ she kept carrying on about how we all live in a house of incest – which doesn't even make _sense_ because it's not like Jughead and Betty are even blood related! They're not even _step_ siblings because you and Alice aren't married! And then she showed everyone this video her older brother found and I tried to snatch her phone off her so she slapped me across the face and then I pushed her and I just got so _angry…_ "

FP's car radio, which had silently connected to his phone via the Bluetooth connection, cut off the rest of Jellybean's sentence as Charles rang through for the eighth time in half an hour.

FP sighed. "Hold that thought JB, your brother has been calling me non-stop." He pushed the answer button. "Charles. Sorry for the delay, I had to meet with JB's principal because she got into a fight at school."

"That's… no problem FP. But you _need_ to get to the station ASAP. Jughead's in trouble. Serious trouble."

Jellybean gasped. FP's heart dropped into his stomach, and for a moment he lost the ability to think. "Is he hurt?" he held his breath, his life depending on the answer.

"No, no… not physically." FP let out his breath. "But you need to get down here. There was a video tape posted online of him in a _compromising position_ and it's gotten him into some strife."

"That's the one I was trying to tell you about, Dad!" Jellybean sat up straight and sounded more urgent than before. "People at school have been sharing around this video of Betty and Jughead having se—um… you know… doing things… while they're naked. That's why I was fighting with Carla, I was trying to get her to stop showing it to everyone. But I think almost everyone has seen it now."

"FP, the main problem is that Betty is underage in the video… I don't think I need to explain to you the significance of that." Charles sounded, for the first time, nervous.

And on that gloomy note, FP's middle child officially took the first prize for 'biggest headache of the day'.

... 

_As it turns out, I was incredibly lucky to have Archie's mom as my legal representation. The woman was relentless, telling the FBI agent interviewing me whether or not I was going to answer certain questions, answering things for me, ripping into them for trying to goad me into admitting guilt. "You don't have to answer that Jughead," and "This process is only adding to my client's emotional trauma," were her main selling points._

_Archie had been right: it_ was _the video of me and Betty that had been the catalyst to bring me in that day. But the big question still remained: what 'evidence' did they have that had them so sure of my guilt that their initial plan was to arrest me on the spot?_

"Alright then, Mrs Andrews, you claim Forsythe has had no part in this crime, so there should be absolutely no issues with allowing him to identify some key objects?" the agent – Johnston – raised his left eyebrow.

Mary gave the agent a stern look and nodded. "Jughead is entirely willing to co-operate with your investigation."

Agent Johnston looked like he was trying very hard not to roll his eyes. If Jughead wasn't so stressed, he may have laughed. "So tell me Mr Jones, where were you at approximately 6pm last night."

Jughead shared a look with Mary, and after she nodded encouragingly, he answered honestly. "I was at Pop's Chocklit Shoppe."

"Were you alone?"

"No, I was with my friends, Archie Andrews and Veronica Lodge."

"What were you doing there?"

Mary butted in. "Is that relevant? He's answered your question."

"It might be." Said Agent Johnston, clearly annoyed.

"It's okay, Mrs Andrews, I'll answer that one. We were studying together. Well, _I_ was studying, Archie and Veronica were just trying to make themselves believe they were being productive because they wanted an excuse to have dinner at Pop's. But we did discuss our Literature Finals, so there's that."

"Does that satisfy you, Agent Johnston?" asked Mary. Jughead took the hint and stopped talking.

Johnston ignored her. "Elizabeth Cooper works there, doesn't she?”

"Yes, she does." Jughead confirmed.

"Do you often go to the diner while Elizabeth is working?"

"What exactly are you implying, Agent Johnston?" Mary was very much in no-nonsense lawyer mode.

He shrugged. "I'm trying to get a clearer understanding of this situation." He jotted down a few notes. "Do you ever ask Elizabeth to lie for you?"

"Agent Johnston, if you're not going to get to the point or charge my client with something then I'm going to request that we cease this unnecessary charade."

Agent Johnston looked to his right at the two-way mirror and nodded to whoever was watching on the other side. Another agent Jughead didn't recognise walked in carrying a flat silver object. He placed it on the table in front of Jughead, and it took everything in his willpower not to freeze on the spot.

It was his laptop.

Not his new Macbook Pro; the one the Stonies had given him after his initiation into the Quill and Skull – his old one, the one he bought off of craigslist using the money he saved for two years working at the drive ins. The one covered in whimsical stickers. The one that contained proof he hadn't plagiarised a damn thing in his entire high school education. The one that had gone missing just before his hearing with the school board.

The one that was stolen from him.

"Do you recognise this, Mr Jones."

Hoping Archie's mom would say something, he waited a few seconds before answering. When she just looked at him expectantly, he cautiously said. "Yes… but where did you find it? It's been missing for months."

"How convenient."

"It has been missing! I know my ex-roommate at Stonewall stole it, I just haven't been able to prove it."

"The same roommate who apparently recorded you and Elizabeth having sexual relations several times without either of your knowledge?"

"Yes! The same… wait, did you say _several?"_

Johnston ignored him. "We received a phone call last night at 7pm from a concerned member of the public. They had received a link to a revenge porn website from _your_ facebook account to their messenger inbox. When they opened the video they could see that it was a recording of two people having sex who they believed were underage. So we tracked the IP address of the account user who uploaded the video – who's screenname, for the record Forsythe, is _JugheadJones2001_ – and it was traced to a 2010 Macbook Air, which after a quick search was found stashed underneath the crime fiction book shelf in Greendale Public Library."

Jughead and Mary said nothing.

"That's not all we found. We went through the files on the Macbook and found some very interesting videos in a folder labelled 'Ponytail'. So tell me, Mr Jones, were you planning to upload the rest of the videos to that site last night? Did you get interrupted before you could finish? Or were you holding out for another week? Did you hide the computer under the shelves because you were worried if you took it home with you that it could be tracked to your house? Or, were you scared to take it home in case Elizabeth found your secret videos of her and reported you?"

"This is … insane."

"No, Mr Jones, I think we both know the truth here. Unless you mean to tell me that you have never demanded that Elizabeth "take off her shirt and get on her knees"? That you've never choked her until she nearly passed out? Because we have the video evidence of this, and several other incidences of you _coercing_ your underage girlfriend into performing sexual acts with you, right here on this computer."

"I've never forced Betty to do _anything._ " _I have to be dreaming right now,_ Jughead's heart was racing. Just how many videos did Brett have of him and Betty?

He was ignored again. "Now, I'm sure your friends will be all too happy to confirm your sketchy alibi for last night, but since you can't _prove_ you were at the Chocklit Shoppe when the videos were uploaded—"

"Yes – yes I can! Veronica installed security cameras!"

Agent Johnston paused his tirade. Clearly, he'd come into this interviewing believing without a doubt that Jughead was guilty, and Jughead had just given him proof that he wasn't. An alibi was not something the agent was expecting. Because if Jughead wasn't anywhere near the laptop at the time the videos were uploaded and shared around between the teenagers of Riverdale, then it completely threw Jughead's assumed guilt into the trash. For the first time since he'd walked into the Blue and Gold office earlier today, Jughead felt a slither of relief.

He also didn't think he'd ever seen Mary look more unimpressed. "Well, it shouldn't be too hard to ask Veronica Lodge, the _owner_ of Pop's for a copy of the video footage from last night, should it? That will assist with clearing things up. You can stop harassing my client now and start looking for the actual perpetrator, Agent Johnston."

Johnston frowned. "That still doesn't prove it wasn't him, he could have been using a VPN."

"And had time to go all the way to Greendale to stash the computer at the place he was supposedly 'pretending' to be, so that you could _find_ it and be able to trace it back to him? All within the space of what, an hour? Come on, Agent, you strike me as an intelligent man, and yet you're clutching at straws here."

He crossed his arms. "Alright, and how do you intend to prove that your laptop was stolen, Forsythe? You could have given it to a friend and asked them to upload the video for you last night."

"Well, I'm sure my client reported the theft to a member of the school faculty."

Jughead's eyes widened. "I – I did! I went to the student office and reported it missing. And I reported it stolen at the Sheriff’s station. He gave me a record of my report and everything."

Mary smiled. "Excellent, will there be anything else you need from my client, Agent Johnston? Or is he, with his solid, air-tight alibi, free to go? I mean, if you'd prefer to place him under arrest with charges that will be dropped in court, _and_ inspire a media expose about the prejudiced treatment of my client by the FBI, I'm sure Alice Smith at the Riverdale Register would be more than happy to oblige."

Once Jughead was told he was free to go, he and Mary hurried to exit the station. FP, Charles, Jellybean and Archie were waiting for them outside the building.

"Boy, you are going to send your old man to an early grave." FP reached out and enveloped Jughead into an embrace. Jughead, who now realised he was shaking, got a grip on his dad, allowing some of the tension to leave his body.

Jughead groaned. "Dad… for a minute there I really thought I was going to be thrown in jail. Honestly, Mrs Andrews, you saved my ass in there."

Mary smirked. "It's my pleasure. But Jughead, you're _very_ lucky Charles was able to convince them to question you _before_ arresting you. If you were arrested, they would have charged you, because believe me they certainly had enough evidence to do just that. Then you could have been locked up until your trial, which you _probably_ would have won, but with Federal Court who knows how long that would have been."

"It's nothing, honestly, Johnston is fond of Betty and he owed me a favour and –" but whatever Charles had been about to say was cut off as FP threw his arms around him in a hug that spoke more volumes than the entirety of the Baxter Brothers Series. Charles seemed surprised for a second, then relaxed, smiled and pat FP on the back.

FP stepped back, clapping Charles on the shoulder. "Okay, I _think_ all of us are on the same page now, but now we need to figure out what to tell Betty, and Alice."

Charles cleared his throat. "Well, standard procedure is that the victim, or their parents if the victim is still underage, legally must be notified whenever they are found to be featured in child pornography. I volunteered to officially inform Betty, I figured that would be less traumatising for her…"

"That's a good idea Charles. But honestly, she probably already knows by now." Jughead said. His earlier relief became a sickening dread. Betty was stressed enough as it was – and now that he wasn't being interrogated, Jughead was hit again with the realisation that Betty was _pregnant._ With _his_ baby. He leaned against the brick wall behind him to cover up the fact he'd started to sway.

"Veronica called me while you were talking to the FBI, Jug. Betty knows about the video, Kevin and Ronnie told her about it. Apparently, she was adamant that _you_ would have had nothing to do with uploading it despite how bad things looked. Veronica told her not to go into Pop's, she's covering her shift tonight. Apparently Alice is home now but I don't know what they've told her. Betty's pretty anxious to talk to you, Jughead. She's _worried_ about you, actually."

Jughead's chest tightened. _She_ was worried about _him?_ "She's… she's so amazing." His voice, thick with emotion, betrayed that he was holding tears back.

There were a couple of minutes filled with silence, all parties contemplating their own feelings.

"Well," Jellybean was the first to talk, cutting through the tension. "Dad, brothers… could this be the time to call for our first official family meeting?"

Despite how he felt inside, Jughead let out a single, genuine, laugh.


	5. Betty Cooper is no damsel in distress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FP and Alice hope their kids are using protection - oh, the irony.
> 
> Charles questions Betty about the sex tapes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're hearing this from me first - I will legitimately stop watching Riverdale if this ridiculously forced "Barchie" saga lasts too many more episodes. Bughead is all we need.

Chapter Five - Betty Cooper is no damsel in distress

Betty didn’t talk for two hours after Kevin and Veronica left. Alice had returned home to find the three teenagers still huddled in the kitchen, and it didn’t take too much prompting for Betty to admit, tears in her eyes, that the tape her and her mother had searched Stonewall Prep for had made its way onto the internet.

Alice, for once, had remained blissfully silent as Betty sobbed into her shoulder.

At Alice’s request, Kevin and Veronica left shortly after to give the ladies some “family time”, with Veronica telling Betty not to worry about coming into Pop’s that afternoon. Since then, Betty and Alice had remained on the couch in the living room, Betty leaning against Alice’s shoulder, and Alice wrapping her arms around her daughter.

A searing heat, like hell-fire, boiled under Alice’s skin. Her very blood burned with anger and hatred. Who did these stuck up, poisonous teenagers think they were, going after _her_ daughter?!

FP, Jughead, Charles and JB found Betty and Alice sitting together when they finally arrived home. Betty was on her feet and in Jughead’s arms in an instant, barely letting him get through the doorway before she launched herself at him. She still didn’t speak, just held on to him tightly, her face buried in his shoulder. He kept his arms around her, one at her shoulders and one clutching her waist, his cheek on the top of her head.

Having her in his arms, he finally felt safe. Their conversation in the Blue and Gold earlier seemed like a distant memory now, though Jughead knew they’d have to revisit it… and soon.

They didn’t break their hold on each other as Jellybean and Charles moved into the living room and sat in the single armchairs. They didn’t flinch as Alice asked, venom in her words: “Do you know what those bastards did to our kids, FP?” They remained in their embrace as FP sat beside Alice and brought her up to speed on the situation with Jughead almost being arrested; Charles informed her of the implications of what trouble Betty and Jughead could be in with the video circulating (despite the FBI having the original account it was uploaded from removed from the pornographic website); Jellybean explained more details about the kids in her middle school sharing the video around, which they seemed to have obtained from their siblings or friends at Riverdale High School.

A “Family Meeting” Jellybean had jokingly called it earlier, but this was the most cohesion the Cooper-Jones clan had experienced from both their respective families. Neither Betty nor Jughead had ever seen their own families being this connected, listening to each other’s opinions and being supportive of each other’s feelings and thoughts. Togetherness, and respect, were something they had with each other that they didn’t have with their families before the craziness of the past year thrust them into each other’s lives. FP and Alice, Jughead and Betty, and Charles, Jellybean… even Polly – their family made sense, it worked, _they_ worked. And maybe, just maybe, they’d keep working for the long run.

“Are you okay?” Betty’s whisper was barely audible to Jughead over the rest of the crew’s discussion.

He pulled back a little to put his hand on her cheek. “I can’t believe you’re worried about _me,_ Betts. I’m so sorry… you don’t need this right now – _we_ don’t need this.” For the first time, Jughead moved his arm around from Betty’s waist and placed a palm over her stomach. It was still as flat as ever, but he knew what was growing inside her.

Betty sighed, putting one of her own hands over his. “Yeah well… I’m not the one who just got dragged into the FBI’s office.”

“I’m okay.” Jughead shifted and hugged Betty again, tighter than before, his arms enveloping her once again. “Mrs Andrews… and Charles, sorted it out.”

“Speaking of sorting things out.” Charles had left the rest of the family to join them in front of the doorway. “Betty, I need to talk to you about some legal matters in private. You can have someone with you… but not Jughead since he _is_ still a suspect.”

Betty pondered this. “If it’s okay, I would rather Jughead hears whatever it is you need to tell me. I’d ask mom… but I don’t really want her to know what was on that video. It concerns Jughead just as much as me, and let’s be honest I’m going to tell him anyway so he may as well join us.”

“I’m really, _really_ sorry Betty, but I can’t allow that… at least for the first part of our conversation. If he so happens to enter the room after a few minutes… well, I guess I can’t stop him entering his own room. Provided nobody finds out.” Charles raised an eyebrow, daring the two to challenge him.

Betty reluctantly agreed and followed Charles upstairs. Jughead trailed a few feet behind, waiting at the top of the steps when the other two went into Betty’s room and shut the door.

Meanwhile, FP and Alice watched the three of them ascend the stairs, presumably to Betty and Jughead’s room. A disturbed thought popped into Alice’s mind. “Should we be letting them sleep in the same room together?”

FP sighed. “I think trying to save their innocence is a moot point, Alice. They’re both adults and have clearly been having sex for a long time. Personally, I prefer them doing it in the house–”

_“Ew, Dad! I’m still here!”_ A horrified JB covered her ears and hurried out of the living room, making her way to the kitchen. FP blushed, feeling a slight amount of guilt, and a whole lot of amusement.

Alice ran her hands through her hair in frustration. “I need to do something about this. I’m just full of this _rage_ , and I don’t want to take it out on the kids. They both tried _so_ hard to stop that video from being released.”

FP put his arm around her shoulder. “We’ll figure out who did this to them. Charles is already working on questioning Brett, and tomorrow myself and some members of the FBI are going to the high school and middle school to explain why keeping copies of any ‘intimate’ videos of their classmates is _very_ illegal.”

Alice leaned further into FP. “Jughead and Betty are smart, they’re not going to let this go. They’ll figure out who it was and bring them to justice.”

FP nodded. “I agree… they are smart.” He stiffened and sat up straighter. “My boy had better be being _smart_ with your girl… maybe talking to them about their ‘sleeping arrangements’ isn’t such a bad idea. They’re both going to college soon, I don’t think either of them need any… _surprises_ , so to speak.”

Alice laughed in spite of her own stress. “Feel free to give Jughead any ‘manly’ pep talks you think are necessary, FP. But… I’m not proud of it, but I sort of lost it at Betty a few months ago when I found her birth control pills. They are being very smart. I wouldn’t worry too much about any more Jones/Smith-teen-pregnancy scandals. My Elizabeth is well prepared in that department.”

FP cringed a little. “Well… that’s good. Nothing like the two of us were at that age.” He teasingly elbowed her in the ribs. She playfully shoved him back.

_How ironic it was, that although Betty’s mother and my father thought the world of their children and believed them to be the better versions of themselves, little did they know we weren’t so different from them after all._

Charles got the formalities out of the way and pulled out a folder. He explained to Betty that she was featured in four child pornography videos, one of which had been posted online. One of the videos was particularly concerning because there was evidence that she had been coerced into filming it. Another was concerning because she appeared to be physically assaulted by ‘the adult’ in the film.

“Before we continue, Betty, I need to ask… has Jughead _ever_ pressured you into performing sexually with him? Have you ever been too scared to refuse his advances?” Charles’ face was difficult to read.

Betty crossed her arms. “Charles… do you really think so badly of Jughead?”

“It’s not what _I_ think, Betty. It’s just what I have to ask by law. But in any case,” he hesitated. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to protect him if he _did_ pressure you into anything. Just because he’s my brother, that doesn’t mean I won’t protect you from him if he hurts you. I helped him out earlier and stopped his arrest. That was _me_ being there for _him_. Now I’m trying to be there for _you,_ Betty. So if you do have anything you don’t want him to know, or if there’s anything you’re too scared to say in front of him, then now’s your chance.”

Betty, while feeling slightly frustrated with her half-brother, couldn’t help but feel something that resembled warmth when she realised how protective he was of her. It was a feeling she missed, not having felt that protected, younger sibling feeling that she used to receive from Polly when the Vixens would tease her in her Freshman year. Or when their dad would yell at them for some minor inconvenience they had caused and Polly would take the blame.

“I promise, Charles. Jughead has never, ever made me feel unsafe, or forced me to do anything with him… sexually or otherwise. To be perfectly honest with you, we take consent very seriously – we even have safe words anytime we try something… _new_.” Betty found it odd that it was only _slightly_ awkward telling Charles the details of her and Jughead’s sex life. For a brief moment (which she promptly shut down) it reminded her of when Chic had introduced her to the webcamming world…

She made a mental note to make sure none of _that_ was still present online.

“That’s good to hear, Betty.” Charles opened the folder in his lap, then called out louder. “Jughead, you can stop lurking out there and come in now.” Almost immediately a slightly red face Jughead entered the room. “Just a reminder that you’re _not here._ ”

Jughead nodded and sat next to Betty on their bed. They faced Charles, who was seated on the chair that normally occupied the vanity. Jughead had spent many hours the past few months watching Betty on that very chair, applying her perfectly picked out makeup, tying up her hair into that ponytail that always exposed the enticing curve of her neck…

He shook away the dirty thoughts that threatened to enter his mind. _Now is so_ not _the time, Jones, keep it in your pants,_ he thought.

“I have some screen stills of the four videos we have in evidence.” Charles began. “Can you confirm whether the girl in these photographs is you?”

The first photo was a print out of the video Kevin had shown her. It was a still moment of a part of the video she hadn’t seen yet: she was naked, sitting on top of Jughead whose face was hidden as he had his lips on her chest… her face was turned towards her left, looking down, smiling. She wasn’t looking at the camera but she was faced towards it – easily identified.

“Yes, that’s me.”

The next video still she recognised as being from the previous day, when she’d first entered his dorm room. She’d told him to save the chapter he was working on, and then straddled him on his desk chair. The still depicted her sitting on him, but with her back against his chest so she was facing the door (which is where the camera must have been stationed), her eyes closed as she leaned back against him. Thankfully, she was still clothed – though Jughead’s left hand was clearly inside the front of her jeans as his mouth attacked her neck.

She let out a breath. “That’s me too… I’m glad I decided not to bring mom up here.” She joked. Jughead reached over to squeeze her hand.

The next still, Betty knew came from a few weeks earlier, the same day she’d competed in the Quiz Show against Sweetwater High. In this still she was wearing no shirt, though her blue lacy bra was still on. She was kneeling in front of Jughead, looking up at him as he smirked down at her – her face was visible, though at an angle. Jughead was leaning back, presumably against his dorm room door, and a memory stuck out in her mind – of Jughead declaring that he needed to put a tie on the door handle shortly after she’d come to visit him that morning before school. Realisation crossed her face.

“Yes that’s me. Is this the video that is making the FBI think Jughead ‘forced’ me to do things to him?”

Charles raised his eyebrows. “It’s one of them. Do you have something to say about that?”

Betty blushed, then straightened her back. “He was taking control that morning… but he was only messing around. He jokingly told me to ‘get naked’ or something like that, and I decided to play along. We were… it was completely consensual; I can assure you.”

Jughead stiffened and realised this is what Agent Johnston had referred to earlier… _“_ _Unless you mean to tell me that you have never demanded that Elizabeth “take off her shirt and get on her knees”?”_ is what the agent had said. Jughead whispered _“Crap”_ and put his face in his hands as he groaned. He _had_ said that to her, in a moment of teasing, when they were both so turned on that he had to quickly put his tie on the door to honour Stonewall’s unspoken agreement to stay out of the dorm rooms when someone had a ‘special friend’ inside. He’d been worried Brett would return early from his work out and walk in on them, and knew that the tie would be all the information his roommate needed to come back later. He’d certainly had to oblige Brett’s tie on the handle several times during his time at Stonewall.

Jughead had no idea that it didn’t matter how many ties he put on their door handle, his roommate would still be able to watch him having sex with his girlfriend…

Charles didn’t dwell on the details. “For the next video we have two photos… I’m not meant to show you the second photo, in case it triggers any traumatic experiences for you.” He passed the first photo to Betty, and left the next one on top of his lap, still resting in the open folder.

Jughead could still see the image, however – and knew what it would be a fraction of a second before his eyes could process what he was seeing. The two of them, this time on the floor of the dorm room. Her back pressed against the floor. Him with his hands around her neck. It had been a rare night, back when she was suspended from Riverdale High and had snuck out of their house and into his dorm room. Brett wasn’t in the room at the time, apparently meeting up with the football team for a party in the woods.

It had been Betty’s idea. She’d heard that choking during sex could give one stronger orgasms… and he’d been a little hesitant oblige. The Agent’s word once again came back to haunt him _… you’ve never choked her until she nearly passed out?_

In fact, for a second there during their coupling, he thought she _had_ passed out. Her eyes had rolled back into her head as she convulsed for a full minute. He’d shaken her back into consciousness, desperately trying not to panic, when she’d regained her sanity and immediately pulled him closer, kissing him harder. Later she’d thanked him for indulging her, for trying it out without judging, and then explained that while she enjoyed the experience, it would _maybe_ be better if they waited until they were older and more experienced to try choking again.

Betty looked up from the photo Charles had handed her, and said: “Yeah, that’s me again. In all of the videos you have, I was completely aware of, and consenting to, the sexual _experiences_ me and Jughead were engaged in. That’s something I would testify to under oath. I wanted everything in the videos to happen. In fact, I instigated some of them. The “adult” in the videos is the boyfriend I’ve been with since the age of fifteen. Who I believe had no knowledge of the videos and is just as much a victim as I am.”

Jughead shifted closer to Betty, putting both his arms around her.

Charles reassembled the photos into a pile and returned them to the folder. “Thank you, Betty. Your co-operation has made this run smoothly.” He stood up. “That’s all I really need from you. I’m going to go and file my notes before the station closes… am I right in assuming you’re not going to press charges against Mr _Forsythe Jones III?”_

Betty just stared at him in response.

Charles smiled at them. “I’ll see you both later tonight. I’m really sorry, to both of you. But I have to admit, you’re both handling this a lot better than I would have at your age.” He gave Jughead a little pat on the shoulder then left the room, shutting the door behind him.

And then finally, heavenly, Jughead and Betty were alone.


	6. Our tiny little problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty and Jughead finally get some alone time to talk about their little problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a bit of a shorter chapter but I feel like these two have hardly interacted this whole fic ahahah

Chapter Six - Our tiny little problem

_Betty and I may have been out of the ‘child porn’ woods, for now, but we were still up Sweetwater River in the middle of winter without a boat or life jackets._

“Betty… we really need to talk.”

Jughead and Betty were still in their room, only now they were laying down, both on their sides – Betty’s back against Jughead’s chest, his arms wrapped around her. As if to make his point, he slid his hand (the one that wasn’t under her head) onto her stomach, right where he knew something was growing.

Betty shifted her head to kiss his other arm. “I don’t know what we should talk about, Jug.” It was hard for her to admit, but the not knowing, the feeling of being completely out of control, scared her the most.

Jughead planted a kiss on her neck. “We can’t ignore it forever, Betts.”

She groaned and rolled over to face him. “Can we ignore it… just for tonight?”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’re the one who brought it up earlier…” He pushed a strand of her hair away from her eyes. “I know I didn’t exactly… react positively about it…”

“I thought you were going to faint. Or throw up. Or both.” Not that she could judge, considering that after she’d dragged Jughead into the Blue and Gold to tell him, tears running down her face and voice shaking, “ _I’m pregnant”,_ she had almost immediately run out of the school, telling him to give her space to think after shoving two pregnancy tests into his hands.

Jughead cringed. “Yeah well… same.” Their eyes met, and they both let out a small amount of laughter. Betty leaned into him to give him a slow, loving kiss. They remained in their embrace for a few minutes, just revelling in the taste and comfort of each other.

Eventually Jughead pulled back to look at her. “How long have you known?”

Betty laid her head down on his arm. “Subconsciously I think I’ve known for a while. My last period was at the end of February, and it’s now the second week of June. So it’s been _well_ over two months, and I’ve been feeling sick every morning for the past three days.”

“Okay…” Jughead swallowed, and tried to keep the accusatory tone from his voice when he asked, “I uh… I thought you were on birth control.”

“I was, Jughead. Honestly. I only stopped taking it last night because I was planning to go to that 24 hour pharmacy in Greendale to buy pregnancy tests and confirm what I already knew. Which, by the way, I almost couldn’t do because you, Ronnie and Archie were in Pop’s until my shift ended.”

“Wait, you went to Greendale last night? _When?”_

“After you fell asleep, I snuck out and caught an uber.” She smirked, “It’s a good thing I wore you out last night or you wouldn’t have slept through me opening the window.”

“Betty… you should have _told_ me. I would have come with you.”

Betty closed her eyes. “I didn’t want to stress you out if I was wrong. I mean, I _could_ have just been sick from mine and Jellybean’s failed attempt at making sushi the other night.”

Jughead screwed his face up. “Sushi sickness aside… that’s still some weak tea Betty…”

“I know… and I’m sorry. Really, Jughead. I am. And, I promise I won’t hide anything else from you about – about the… our… _baby._ ” Betty let the word fall from her lips in a barely audible whisper. It was the first time she was truly acknowledging that what her and Jughead had wasn’t just a _pregnancy…_ but a _baby_ as well.

“Thank you.” Jughead kissed her again. “I have to admit, it feels odd, hearing you say that. _Our baby…_ it’s like I’m listening in on someone else’s life.”

“Believe me, I’m struggling to come to terms with this as well.” Betty blinked, trying to hide the tears that wanted to escape her eyes. “Also… I’m so sorry.”

“For what?”

“The sex tape being released… I can’t prove it right now but I’m almost certain Donna did it, to get a leg up on me because I threatened her.”

“Betty, we don’t know for certain that it was her–”

“And for getting pregnant. That was my fault too.”

Jughead shifted up on his elbow to get a better look at her. “How about we _don’t_ do the spiral of self-destruction tonight. Neither of these things are your fault, Betty. The Stonies, whichever one it was, are to blame for the sex tape. And as for the baby… well, accidents happen, don’t they? Isn’t it possible for the pill to not work… sometimes? If we were _really_ being careful, we would have kept using condoms…” he stopped short of finishing, not wanting her to feel even more guilty for being the one who’d suggested they stop using them.

“No, no you don’t understand.” She sat up and pulled away from him, bringing her knees up so she could hug them. They provided a nice spot for her to hide her face from him. “The pill loses its effectiveness if it’s not taken at exactly the same time every day. And I was being _so_ careful, Juggie.” She let out a sigh that threatened to become a sob. “And then… the night the Stonies tried to kill you… and they drugged me… I didn’t get home until three in the morning, and–” she paused, needing to take a moment to compose herself before she looked her boyfriend in the eyes, “and I _forgot_ to take it. And then I forgot again the next day, and the next. I was so completely absorbed by what was happening, and not knowing if you’d ever wake up… it just completely slipped my mind. I didn’t take it for three whole days – and the last time we had sex was literally the morning they tried to kill you. I’m almost one hundred percent sure that’s when I conceived. I thought it’d be fine, but then I got too paranoid and went to try and get Plan B with Veronica. But by then it had already been past five days after the last time we had sex, and the pharmacist didn’t recommend taking it because it likely wouldn’t work anyway, and I’d probably experience some side effects that’d leave me out of commission. Maybe I should have taken it anyway... but I just kept taking the pill as usual and put it out of my mind while we tried to figure out how to keep you safe and keep me out of prison.”

Jughead sat up slowly, taking in all the information. He sat quietly for a moment, looking down and fiddling with the fabric of their blanket, and Betty started to worry he might run away. Eventually, he wrapped his arms around her again. “It’s not your fault Betty. Please don’t blame yourself… for any of it. I mean, it takes two to tap a maple tree, right?”

Betty smiled at him, amused, “I’m pretty sure that’s only if you’re a Blossom twin, but I appreciate the sentiment.”

They leaned into each other again, their lips connecting in a sweet, chaste moment of connectedness. But then Betty felt that magnetic pull she only felt around Jughead, the desire to connect with him on a deeper level than could be expressed with words. Jughead revelled in the warm feeling of Betty’s body in his arms, and slowly lay her back against the pillows so he could hover above her.

“Mmm, Juggie,” she whispered, “go lock the door.”

He didn’t need to be told twice.


	7. There is no hell like high school

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jughead discovers some unexpected side effects of the release of his sex tape.

Chapter Seven

_High School: a universal fiend among all teens in Riverdale, regardless of their status in the social hierarchy. An unfortunate side effect of the exposure of mine and Betty’s video was the attention we both received at said high school. And with that attention, our positions on the social hierarchy were about to change dramatically._

_When we decided to go to school the next day, determined to rise above the nasty looks and the judgemental comments, I’d expected more disgust directed at me. Cheryl and Toni certainly provided glares with enough anger to burn the school down, until Veronica had dutifully explained to them that I wasn’t the one who posted the video online and spread it to our classmates like a social-media virus._

_It was mostly the girls in the younger grades that gave the dirty looks, but they seemed to be exclusively reserved for Betty. Not that she paid any notice to them, determined not to let this destroy her. Besides, all the vigilante justice Archie had dished out over the past two years had nothing on the fierce defence that Cheryl Blossom gave to Betty when anyone so much as breathed a negative thought in her direction._

_But the truly baffling consequence was the notoriety that_ I _was suddenly receiving from the general school populace._

“ _Hey_ , Jughead.”

Jughead had been walking through the school hallway with Kevin, on their way to chemistry, when he noticed that a lot of the girls were staring at him. He’d assumed it was out of righteous anger, like several of the River Vixens had been doing as he walked into school with Betty that morning. But, when he turned towards the girl who’d called out his name, he realised that she, and the other girls near her, were certainly _not_ glaring at him.

They were grinning.

Some were looking at him wistfully, some were merely smiling at him. But there was no denying that several of the girls were doing nothing but grin.

“You free tonight? I know how much you like blondes…” the girl, who he knew was a junior River Vixen, twirled a strand of her blonde hair around her finger, and looked at him through her long eyelashes.

Jughead was lost for words, and felt incredibly uncomfortable. He’d never, ever been in this situation before. The only girl who’d ever paid him this kind of attention was Betty, and very briefly Toni, but their interest in him had started out as friendship. He’d never been hit on in the school hallways before, aside from one time in junior year when Betty had winked and kept her eyes on him as she opened the door to the Blue and Gold office. Jughead had been quick to follow her lead and lock the door behind him…

Luckily Kevin didn’t share his sense of unease. “Brittney, even _I_ have a better shot with Jughead than you. Go back to crawling inside Cheryl’s ass, or I’ll tell her you were trying to slide in with her cousin’s boyfriend. You’ll have no chance of becoming the next HBIC after that.”

Brittney rolled her eyes and turned towards her locker, but not before sneaking a wink at Jughead. Kevin and Jughead continued on their way, and Jughead was prepared to let it go when two more girls walked past them; both girls’ eyes slid over Jughead’s body, and one of them said softly, “Hi Jughead,” a sultry smile splayed on her face.

Once those girls had walked away, Jughead stopped Kevin. “Kev, you’re my designated gossip collector. Why are these girls suddenly interested in me? Is this because of the video? And while we’re at it, since when do Riverdale’s finest male athletes want to be “bros” with me?” select members of the Bulldogs had once again taken to tapping him on the back as he walked past or nodding at him when their eyes met.

Kevin sighed. “Well, honestly Jughead, you were already on everyone’s radar when you faked your death. People are barely over that, and now you’re literally one half of a whole sex tape scandal.” Kevin started walking again, nudging Jughead along. “I think you’re getting praise from the football team in particular because they’ll use any opportunity to boast about a fellow student’s sexual prowess. As for the girls…” he paused, looking Jughead in the eye. “Well, have you _seen_ your sex tape, Jug?”

“I don’t need to see it Kev, I _lived_ it. And that thing nearly got me thrown in jail.”

“Well, let’s just say that most of the girls in this school are now _very_ conscious of the fact that you know how to… take care of a girl, let’s say.” He smirked at his friend. “I won’t lie, Josie and I did scrub through that video together, because we were just so shocked and were hoping it was a joke. And from what parts I _did_ see, I can guess that a lot of Riverdale’s teen girl population – and some of the boys – are in awe of the mysterious writer slash biker gang member who _enthusiastically_ goes down on his girlfriend for twenty minutes in order to give her multiple orga—”

“Oh _kay_ Kevin, thank you for that.” Jughead felt his cheeks growing very hot.

“I hate to say this, Jughead. But it appears that overnight you’ve turned into a veritable Sex God. A myth, a legend, the kind only whispered about during slumber parties…”

As if on cue, Reggie Mantle joined the pair. “So, Jones, word on the street is you _do_ know what to do with girls after all. I would like to apologise for, and humbly withdraw my previous statements about your inability to get laid.”

“Reggie, that’s the opposite of helpful.” Kevin stated.

“I’m just keeping it real, gentlemen.” Reggie gave them both the peace out sign. Jughead decided to ignore him.

Just before they made it to the chemistry lab, a formidable ex-student approached. “Jones.” He said, crossing his arms. Jughead was instantly on higher alert.

“What are _you_ doing here, Chuck?” Jughead made no attempt at hiding the venom from his voice. Chuck Clayton had graduated the year before, and his past behaviour and comments about Betty made Jughead think he could only have nefarious intentions.

But Chuck merely crossed his arms. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I needed to pick up my transcript. I lost my old copy.” He rolled his eyes. “What I _should_ be doing is wringing your neck right now, _Juggie,_ after what your jerk sister did to mine yesterday.”

_Okay, not exactly what I was expecting,_ thought Jughead. He cracked his neck. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Chuck. But _please,_ give me a reason to throw you on the floor.”

“Wow, do you think you can take me cause you’re a big scary gang member now, Donny Darko?” Chuck let his arms drop to his sides. “You keep that baby snake of yours under control and we won’t have a problem.”

Jughead took a step closer to him. “You’d better stay the hell away from her, Clayton, or we _will_ have a problem.”

“Jughead…” Kevin’s voice sounded more like a warning than his actual name. Reggie wouldn’t have minded if the two started throwing punches, but he remained silently supportive instead of egging Jughead on like he secretly wanted to.

Chuck looked like he was going to argue some more, but then let out a breath and crossed his arms. “I didn’t come over here to fight you. I actually came to tell you I saw Betty ditching class. She’s in the gym feeling sorry for herself. Thought that might interest you.”

All the anger rushed out of his body. A sense of bewilderment settled over him instead. “Um… yeah it does.” Jughead looked at him in confusion. “Thanks… I better go check on her.” He gave Chuck a once over, then nodded to Kevin and Reggie. “Can you tell Mr Beaker I’ll be a few minutes late?”

It didn’t take long to find her. She was sitting at the top of the bleachers, right in the corner so she was half hidden by one of the large cement columns. The rest of the gym was abandoned. She looked up at him when he walked in and briefly smiled at him, though it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Hey there, you hiding from the hard labours of mathematics?” Jughead asked once he’d made the climb to reach her.

Betty laughed, though Jughead detected no hint of amusement from her. “Sort of. I’m avoiding Veronica, actually. She caught me throwing up during lunch – _again_ – and kept asking me all these questions… seems convinced that we should ditch school and go to the pharmacy…” she gave him a pointed look.

Jughead took a seat beside her. “You haven’t told her yet?”

Betty shook her head, leaning against him. “I don’t think I’m ready for anyone to know. We only have _one_ more week of school after today, and it’s going to be full of exams and cramming, prom, graduation, and I really need to stay focused… I just want to graduate high school without everyone knowing I’m with child.” Jughead’s silence made her look up at his face. She noted the guilty expression planted there and her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “What is it, Jug?”

He gave her a pleading look, his blue eyes shining with regret. “I may have… _accidentally_ mentioned something to Archie.”

Betty stiffened and sat up properly, moving slightly away from him to turn and face him. “You told Archie?!” her voice betrayed a hint of panic.

“I’m so sorry, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you last night… I kind of forgot.”

Betty looked incredulous. “You _forgot._ ” It was a statement, not a question. Truth be told, after being interrogated by the FBI, most of the previous day’s events had gone out the window of his memory.

Jughead took her hands in his, running his thumbs over the soft skin. “He found me sulking at Pop’s yesterday just before Charles did. I still had _no_ idea about the video. So, when he started telling me the whole school knew all about ‘what I did to Betty’ and asked me if I wanted to talk about it… I just assumed he was talking about me getting you pregnant; that someone had overheard us talking and spread it around.” Betty groaned again. “I’m really sorry, Betty. It was a rookie mistake.”

She put her face in her hands. “Damnit.” He wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders and rubbed her arm.

Jughead was surprised by how upset Betty seemed by Archie finding out. Of all their friends, Archie tended to be the most loyal. Jughead almost said as much, but something in her expression stopped him. _Why does she care so much about Archie knowing?_  
  


Guilt began to spread through Jughead’s chest. It wasn’t his job to judge, it was his job to support Betty. “It’s going to be okay, I don’t think Archie is going to tell anyone… and I’ll talk to him before Literature this afternoon…”

“It’s okay, Jug… don’t beat yourself up.” She put her arms around him, drawing him closer to her.

They remained like that for a few minutes, neither wanting to talk, when he and Betty’s phones both dinged at the same time. They shared a worried glance, and both pulled their phones out to see a new group imessage from Charles. Jughead let out a sigh of relief and placed his phone back in his pocket, deciding to read over Betty’s shoulder.

_Alice just called your school. You both have permission to take the rest of the afternoon off. Some members of the FBI are going to come in at 1:30 for an assembly about the legality of sharing underage nudes and intimate videos. They won’t mention either of your names but they are going to talk specifically about existing videos that are circulating. I just did a generic version of that assembly at Riverdale Middle School. Jellybean says hi._

Betty finished reading before Jughead. “You wanna go to Pop’s?”

_Would I ever say no to that?_

Jughead just stood, pulling her up with him. Starting the weekend early and avoiding the stares and whispers of their classmates sounded like the best thing ever right now. He sent out a text to Archie, asking him if he could come over that afternoon, and they set off to their lockers to grab the rest of their things. Jughead knew Archie would read between the lines and know he wanted to talk. He didn’t need to send him a long winded message packed with emotion.

It was hours later, long after everyone had returned home for the evening and the sunlight was barely visible through the loungeroom window, that Jughead received a text message. He’d been watching _Tiger King_ with Betty and JB, and Betty had just announced she thought the old blonde lady was bat shit crazy. He pulled out his phone to see it was from Archie.

_Come walk Vegas with me?_

He gave Betty a kiss on the cheek, tugged one of Jellybeans braids (earning him a ‘get lost douchebag’), called “I’ll be back soon Dad!” up the staircase, and headed out the front door. Archie was already standing at the bottom of the stone stairs that led from the house to the street. Vegas let out a happy bark and wagged his tail as he approached.

“Hi best bud.” He pet the top of Vegas’ head, earning him a lick. “And Archie.” He winked at his pal.

Archie laughed. “I think Vegas likes you more than he likes me.”

“That’s cause he’s the only living creature I would share my burgers with. We have a bond, he and I.” Jughead grinned at Archie, already feeling a bit less ‘doom and gloom’.

They started walking past the small cemetery near their houses, neither wanting to be the first to bring up the elephant in the maple barn. It wasn’t uncomfortable silence, but there was a tenseness in the air between them.

Archie was the one to crack. “What’s going on with you and Betty, Jug?”

Jughead sighed. “Honestly… I don’t think either of us really know what’s going on.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his denim jacket, a slight chill running over him that had nothing to do with the Spring breeze.

“Are you keeping it?”

Jughead stopped walking. “I… we haven’t actually talked about it…” he thought about Betty’s reaction, her stress over the past couple of days. The redness of her eyes and her tears as she told him she was pregnant. The way she’d taken off almost immediately, the fact that she didn’t want anyone, even her best friends, to know…

Did she not want to keep the baby?

Did _he_ want to keep it? He wasn’t going to pretend either of them were ready to be parents. They were _barely_ adults, regardless of their legal age.

But then he thought about last night, the way they’d held onto each other. Her soft voice promising not to hide anything about their baby from him. _Our baby,_ the words returned to the front of his mind.

Jughead knew the answer. He’d known the moment she told him. “Yeah, I think we are.” Jughead wasn’t sure how he felt about that, not yet. He’d need time to process, just like Betty did.

Archie had stopped walking when Jughead had paused, so he reached out to pat him on the back. “You guys are going to be fine. You’ve both faced _way_ worse things the last couple of years. A baby should be a walk in the park compared to some of the shit you’ve both survived.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence Arch.” Vegas whined, urging them to keep walking. They obeyed.

“What are you guys going to do about college?” An innocent, curious question. One that gave Jughead a jolt of surprise.

“You’re really opening a can of worms that me and Betty haven’t even pulled off the shelf yet, man.” Jughead could feel his heart beating in his ears. He hadn’t even _thought_ about college. How the hell were they going to go to college with a newborn? They couldn’t… could they? Jughead could feel a headache starting to form. “Betty doesn’t want to talk about it until after graduation. Honestly, I was kind of against that but now I understand why. There’s so much we need to think about, plan… like _college._ Can we even still go? Also money. Babies are expensive. And, where are we going to live? The house is crowded enough with the five of us. I mean, I guess we’d be fine having the baby in our room… _oh my God_ Archie I don’t know _anything_ about babies. I’ve held Juniper, like, three times. And Dagwood is _not_ my biggest fan. Last week when we visited them at Cheryl’s he screamed and threw a ball at my head when I tried to high five him.” Jughead paused to catch his breath, feeling the no-longer-familiar tightness aching in his chest. He wasn’t about to let the panic attacks that had stopped years ago start up again now. He needed a clear head, he needed to stay calm and collected… like Betty was trying to do.

“Maybe waiting until after we graduate is a good idea. You and Betty need to finish high school. And it’s not like this problem is going to disappear in the next week. You have nine months until you really need to come up with a contingency plan.” Archie stopped walking again to face Jughead. “You should both just get through finals next week and enjoy the prom and graduation. Have fun with the next couple of weeks, live a little, and _then_ deal with parenthood.”

Jughead grimaced. “I appreciate the optimism, Archie, but I don’t think it’s going to be that simple. Also, if Betty’s right – and she usually is – then we don’t have _nine_ months. We have…” he used his fingers to count nine months from March. “Like, six or seven? Maybe? I’m not really sure how due dates are calculated.”

Archie shrugged. “The exact amount of time doesn’t matter, my point is the same. There’s no point to adding extra stress to the next week, it’s going to be crazy enough without adding a baby to the mix.”

The sound of tyres against tar came up from the quiet street. They both looked towards a sleek black car with gold embellishments that was slowly cruising down the road in the direction they had just come from.

Jughead nudged Archie. “Is that Veronica?”

The answer was obvious. “It is. Well, it’s her chauffer’s car, but I’d guess she’s in there. I didn’t know she was coming over.”

“I don’t think she’s coming to see you…” Jughead recalled what Betty had said earlier about avoiding her best friend. The best friend who suspected the truth. “Did you tell V about Betty?”

“What? No, of course not. Why?”

Jughead frowned. “She knows… well, suspects Betty’s pregnant. Betty was avoiding her earlier, which I’m guessing Veronica has realised.”

Archie smirked. “My girl sure is persistent.”


	8. Veronica Lodge is an unstoppable force of nature

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica finally gets the chance to talk to Betty, but little do they know someone can hear their conversation...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty keen for the next chapter to be honest. There's gonna be some serious drama.

Chapter 8

_The trouble with secrets isn’t necessarily having one. It’s the internal anguish, the paranoia – the wondering: ‘is someone going to find out?’. Keeping secrets causes the most stress to those who are in on them._

_And sometimes, hiding secrets is purely impossible – especially when you’re trying to hide things from the people you love._

_And Betty unfortunately had several secrets to hide from her best friend..._

Betty and Jellybean were so absorbed by Joe Exotic’s escapades of polygamy and revenge on Netflix, that neither of them noticed Veronica’s driver pulling up in front of the house. Nor did they see the raven-haired beauty prancing up the stairs with determined gusto. Three quick raps on the front door alerted them to their visitor, and JB enthusiastically flounced over to the door with a cheerful: “I’ll get it!”

Betty expected it to be Jughead returning from his ‘talk’ with Archie, but her stomach clenched when she saw Veronica standing in the doorway. _Great,_ thought Betty, _she’s not going to take no for an answer._

Veronica pulled Jellybean into a quick greeting hug. “JB! Your hair is looking particularly fabulous today. Did you do those braids yourself?”

JB gave Veronica her signature cheeky smile. “Betty did them this morning, actually. She was teaching me how to do them Dutch style. I’m pretty good at French braids though if you ever want to try them out.”

Veronica, ever the pleasant house guest, smiled back at her friend’s sister. “Maybe you should convince that brother of yours to let you do _his_ hair. It’s gotten so long I’m surprised it hasn’t started growing _through_ his beanie.” They both laughed and made their way back into the loungeroom to find a tense Betty sitting up straighter on the couch.

“Hey, V, what a nice surprise.” She gave her friend a big smile. It was the fakest smile Veronica had ever seen. “Me and JB were just watching that _Tiger King_ documentary everyone was talking about on Facebook if you want to join us?”

“Actually,” Veronica’s smile was equally as sickeningly sweet as Betty’s was. “Jellybean, would you mind terribly if I borrowed Betty for a moment? I really need some _girl talk_.” Her smile wavered, and Betty’s eyes narrowed as Veronica’s eyes fill with fake tears. “It’s Archie, he’s acting really weird and I just need a fresh perspective from a neutral source.”

If JB noticed anything was amiss between the two, she didn’t comment on it. “That’s okay Ronnie! We can watch the rest of this later, Betty. I wanted to try and make choc chip cookies anyway.”

“ _Thankyou,_ JB. I appreciate it from the red bottoms of my Loubitons.” She took Betty’s hand and practically dragged her up the staircase and to her bedroom.

“Those crocodile tears aren’t fooling anyone.” Betty whispered harshly, and Veronica scoffed as she practically shoved her into the room.

After Betty was seated on her bed, arms crossed, and Veronica had closed the door behind her, she folded her own arms across her chest and sat down on the vanity chair. “B, you can’t avoid this forever.”

“I’m not avoiding _anything_ V. And I’m not taking a pregnancy test, which is what I know you drove all the way over here for.”

Veronica stood up and moved to sit next Betty. “B, come _on._ I’m your best friend. You can talk to me.”

Betty started to feel slightly guilty as there was more than one thing she wasn’t telling Veronica, but she squashed the feeling. “There’s nothing to talk about V. And there’s nothing wrong with me, me and Jellybean made sushi on Tuesday afternoon and it didn’t agree with me. Honestly, I’m surprised no one else in the house got sick. Guess I must have a weak stomach.”

Veronica frowned. “Betty, I’ve seen you running in and out of the school bathrooms since Tuesday _morning,_ so don’t give me that spiel.” Veronica reached into her shoulder bag and pulled out a notebook. “I’ve been taking notes of my own down, Miss Investigator, because I’ve been noticing something was up with you this week.” She flipped open the first page, as though she was going to present Betty with a list of the facts. “It’s not just the throwing up. You’ve been _so_ emotional this past week. Don’t think I couldn’t see you holding back tears when Kevin was reading that love poem in Literature last Monday.” Veronica shifted on the bed to face Betty and get a better look at the stoic expression on her face. “I won’t lie, I thought you might’ve been upset yesterday because of the sex tape, but you really were shocked when Kevin and I came over, so I knew it wasn’t that. And then Cheryl said something at lunch today when you took off that just made everything ‘click’ in my head.”

“ _Cheryl_ noticed something was off?” Betty looked at Veronica’s notebook wearily, her eyes running over the perfectly handwritten list of Betty’s ‘symptoms’.

Veronica flicked her hair off her shoulder. “Yes. She said something along the lines of ‘ _My poor cousin, I hope this affliction she has wears off soon’._ And so naturally, when the boys were distracted, I pressed her for more information, and she told me all about how exhausted you were on Sunday while you and Jughead were playing with the twins so her and Toni could study. She mentioned hearing you throw up in the bathroom and looking all pale and sweaty. She’s quite worried about you actually. Thinks the stress of exams might be turning you bulimic and asked me to talk to you ‘before it’s too late’.”

Betty groaned and flopped back on her bed. “Cheryl is being over the top, as per usual.”

“While I do agree that she’s jumping to conclusions, I don’t think she’s far off figuring out what _I_ suspect is the truth, as well.” Veronica reach over to hold one of Betty’s hands. “You’re avoiding this because you’re scared Betty. Why not just get it over with, then you can put your mind at ease? I know you’re stressed, but best-case scenario is you’re not pregnant and we can all relax.” She pulled out another object from her bag, and Betty recognised the box immediately. “I bought this a while ago when I skipped my period, but didn’t end up needing to use it. Here.” She put the box in Betty’s hand, “Just duck into the bathroom – five minutes and this worrying will all be over.”

Betty closed her eyes, hoping that when she opened them Veronica wouldn’t be in her room, there’d be no baby, finals would be over and she’d be in a dorm room at Yale with nothing to worry about except finishing her next essay. She let out a long breath and opened her eyes. Nope, still in her childhood bedroom with a pregnancy test in her hand.

She sat up and handed the test back to Veronica. “I don’t need this V…”

“Honey, I _know_ it’s stressful. But I think you really do need to know for sure.”

“No, no, I mean… I don’t need it… because I took two pregnancy tests yesterday…”

That clearly shocked Veronica, and she straightened in anticipation. “ _And?”_ she asked, her eyes widening and her hand going back to take Betty’s once more.

“You were right, V…”

“Oh, Betty…” she pulled her friend into a hug. “It’s going to be okay, I’m here for you. Jughead’s here for you. Polly’s coming home tomorrow and she knows _all_ about babies, I’m sure. You’re going to be okay.”

She hugged Veronica tighter. Why had she thought hiding this from her best friend was a good idea? Veronica was one of her biggest cheerleaders, and always looked on the bright side of the darkest days. “What are we going to _do,_ V? Me and Jughead are too young to be parents. We’re meant to start college in three months, what are we going to do when the baby is born? I’ve been working so hard to get into Yale since I was _fourteen,_ V. And I’m finally here… and it’s all just going to be ripped away from me. And what about Jughead? I can’t ask him to give that up, he’s been so excited, his dad is so proud of him, he’s the first one in their family to graduate high school, let alone go to college. I can’t ask him to give that all up, he deserves it, he’s going to take his writing so far. And what about my mom? She’s going to go absolutely insane when she finds out I’m pregnant.” It was something Betty was almost certain of, knowing how her mother felt about teen pregnancy.

“Nope, we aren’t going for doom and gloom today, B. You and Jughead are the greatest multi-taskers I’ve ever seen. You’re going to find a way to do it all, go to Yale, become famous authors or high-class private investigators, _and_ still have the time to raise baby Jughead into a beautiful little version of the two of you.”

“ _Baby_ Jughead?”

Betty and Veronica both froze. Neither of them had noticed that Jellybean, who needed help in the kitchen, had quietly made her way up the staircase and started turning the door handle to Betty’s room. She’d been about to say: ‘ _Hey Betty, how do you know if the oven is on the right setting?”_ but her voice had caught in her throat when she heard the words: _“I’m pregnant.”_ It had made her pause, her own personal morals about eavesdropping going out the window. Surely she’d heard Betty wrong, this couldn’t mean what she thought it did…

“Jellybean! Um… I can explain…” Betty had recovered quicker than Veronica, who was still staring at JB’s stunned form in the now-open doorway.

“Is it true, are you…” JB leaned back, tilting her head to check there was nobody in the hallway, “pregnant?” she whispered the last word.

“Quick, come in and close the door.” Betty instructed the teenager, who wasted no time in obeying.

“This why you’ve been sick all week? I can hear you throwing up in the morning…” a look of hurt crossed her face. “Why didn’t Jughead tell me? Does Dad know?”

“No, no one does. Please, JB, don’t tell your dad or my mom. And don’t be angry with Jughead, I swore him to secrecy until after graduation next week.” She patted the bed next to her, and Jellybean took a seat. “We only found out yesterday, a couple of hours before Jug got taken into the station. We’ve both barely had time to process it.” She could sense the girl was still a little down about being left out of the loop and tried to give her a boost. “You’re the only one in the family who knows. I haven’t even told Polly yet, or Charles.” She chose not to mention Jughead’s blunder with telling Archie.

Jellybean smiled at Betty then. “Really? I’m the only one who knows?”

Betty nodded. “Yes, but you have to swear not to tell anyone. Me and Jughead need to figure out what we’re going to do before we start telling people about the baby.”

Jellybean pondered Betty’s words for a minute. “You’re not thinking of putting the baby up for adoption, are you?” Veronica stiffened next to Betty. She hadn’t considered that Betty would think about adoption, but maybe it would make a world of sense. Her and Jughead were both still so young and had a lot they both wanted to accomplish. Maybe adoption _was_ a good option to consider.

Betty just smiled, taking Jellybean’s hand. “Whatever we decide to do, you’ll be the first to know. I promise.”

JB leaned into Betty and gave her a hug. Over the top of JB’s head, Betty looked up at Veronica. Veronica gave Betty a reassuring smile, but she could see the pain in her friend’s eyes.

“You know what, ladies? I think we all need to unwind. Let’s forget about all this drama and go get our nails painted! I know a lady in Greendale who works late from home on Friday nights who’s holo polish is _to die for._ ”

Jellybean grinned at them. “Sounds good, but first can you help me sort these cookies out?”

Half an hour and a fresh batch of cookies later, and Veronica could tell Betty was in a much better mood. Veronica smiled, knowing _this_ is what her friend needed tonight. Some care-free, stress-free fun. But there was one thing Veronica needed to know if she was going to be able to fully back Betty up.

When JB disappeared out the back door to let FP know that she was the new dessert master chef of the house, Veronica used the moment of privacy with her bestie to ask her the thing that had been nagging her since they’d talked to JB upstairs.

“Betty, _are_ you thinking about adoption?”

Betty had just taken a bite of her cookie so was saved from answering for a few seconds. “I don’t want to rule it out until Jughead and I talk about it.” Betty looked down at her shoes. “I don’t want him to feel pressured into dropping everything to help me raise a baby neither of us were planning to have.”

“But what do _you_ want, Betty? Don’t think about Jughead for a second. You’re the one who has to carry it around for the rest of the year. It’s _your_ body, Betty.”

“Yes, but it’s _his_ baby, too.” Betty started picking crumbs off the other half of her cookie absentmindedly. The rest of her sentence was barely audible, and Veronica wondered if she meant to even voice the words she said next. “I don’t think I’m going to be a good parent, V… what if I turn out like my dad? His Dad was a killer, and _his_ Dad was a killer… Clifford Blossom? Killer. It’s genetic… and V…” Betty looked at Veronica then, and Veronica was horrified by the level of despair in the blonde girl’s eyes. “There’s something very, very wrong with me.”

Veronica pondered her friend’s words, realising how vulnerable and terrified she was. But before she could think of any words of comfort, Betty continued talking, her eyes far away, looking at a place behind Veronica’s head.

“I’ve never told you this, V,” Betty’s face went completely white, “but I have the serial killer genes. I’m scared that one day I’ll look at Jughead and the baby and I won’t see them as my partner and child, but people that I need to eradicate… to make the world better. Just like my dad tried to do to me and Mom.”

Veronica tried very hard not to let her face betray the crushing worry she felt. While she was shocked to hear the words come out of Betty’s mouth, she couldn’t admit that she was really all that surprised. She’d seen Betty snap before; she’d even thought, for a while there, that maybe Betty _had_ been the one to hurt Jughead. But this was still her best friend; her best friend who was confiding in her the darkest fears of her soul. “That, is a _lot_ to unpack, Betty.” She reached out and took Betty’s hand and tried to keep her voice neutral. “Is this why you don’t want to talk about the baby until after graduation? Having thoughts like that must be so overwhelming, B.” She moved closer to Betty so that she could draw her into a hug. “If you really don’t want to think about this right now, I completely understand. These thoughts can’t be hanging over your head while you’re trying to ace those finals and enjoy your last week of high school.”

Betty wrapped her arms around Veronica and buried her face in her best friend’s shoulder. “Thankyou, Veronica. I know, rationally that I’m overreacting… but I also know I’m not in a very good frame of mind to be making any life changing decisions. I just need to get through the next week, then I’ll be able to really think about what me and Jughead are going to do.”

“It’s okay, B. And for what it’s worth, I know Jughead loves you very, very much. I’m certain that you guys will be able to talk this all through and sort it all out together.” She drew back to look at Betty’s face. “Next week though. You both just need to focus on your studies for now. You have the rest of your lives to focus on each other.”

Betty smiled. A real, genuine smile this time. She was still smiling when the front door opened and Jughead and Archie walked in. Betty was pleased to see that Jughead was also in a better mood than he left the house in.

“Hello, gentlemen.” Veronica crossed the kitchen to plant a greeting kiss on Archie’s lips. “I trust you can both deal with our absence tonight. Smithers is about to take us over to a _delightful_ little nail salon in Greendale. My treat to two of my favourite girls.”

Jellybean walked in then. She gave Jughead a grin but didn’t want to say anything in front of Archie. She’d have to interrogate her brother later. “I saw your car pulling up, Ronnie. Is that a _Limo?_ ”

“Of course, we Lodge’s always travel in style.”


	9. Eye of the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Let the fanfiction begin.” - Kevin Keller
> 
> YOU KNOW WHAT KEVIN? I JUST MIGHT!
> 
> ......
> 
> Polly comes back to Riverdale, Archie throws a poorly-timed house party, Jughead takes things too far when he gets some startling news from several sources, and Betty discovers that ignoring her problems is only creating more of them... 
> 
> (Strap in fellas - this is a big chapter, with a couple of flashbacks and a whole lot of background information)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ll be honest, this chapter took me way too long to finish because I needed time to process how heartbroken I am over episodes 4x17 and 4x18 (4x19 was flawless if we ignore the previous two - we need more of writer Jughead and fictional serial killer couple Bughead - also the way Betty rolled over to reach out for Jughead and noticed he wasn’t in bed while he typed up his new story for the University of Iowa just SENT me). But no matter how hard I try I can’t ignore barchie completely. I rewatched the entire series (except 4x17-18 cause they hurt too much) like 6 times since coronavirus isolation started in Australia, and I just can’t help thinking the character of Betty deserved way better than a cheating storyline. And JUGHEAD JONES JUST DESERVES BETTER. Don’t even get me started on Archie because my poor cousin had to hear me ranting about him and his bullshit for four weeks straight. Poor Veronica (even though I also low key wouldn’t blame Archie for hating Hiram Lodge, sick or not).
> 
> Honestly I think KEVIN and the lgbtq+ community deserved better too, because all anyone talked about after that musical episode was whether or not they hated ‘Barchie’ - meanwhile Kevin, Toni, Cheryl and Fangs, Riverdale’s queer icons, absolutely SLAYED that entire episode and did NOT get the recognition they deserved (Sweet Pea was lit as well). 
> 
> Also, I totally called it that the sex tape thing wasn’t over :’) 
> 
> #ethelheadrising? 
> 
> I’ve decided that, while in my fanfic 4x17-4x19 aren’t completely canon because they contradict the narrative I’m creating, I AM going to incorporate SOME elements of those episodes into my storyline because this fic is meant to be set in the time that’s a month or two AFTER the events of 4x17-4x19 i.e. Kevin’s variety show at La Bonne Nuit has already happened as has Jughead and Archie catching up on their school work, among other things you must read to find out. But honestly I can’t see why most of Jughead’s class credits wouldn’t transfer from Stonewall - like what? That doesn’t even make sense, he was only ‘dead’ for two weeks, he couldn’t have missed THAT much school. I’m even going to include some of the Archie and Betty crap BUT IM GONNA HIT YOU ALL WITH A TWIST BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHAT? WE ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO HATE ARCHIE ANDREWS, HE’S THE MAIN FUCKING CHARACTER AND I SHOULDN’T BE THIS OUTRAGED. 
> 
> It’s 2020 and ‘we’re both in loving and committed relationships but our love is so strong that we can’t resist each other because it’s our destiny’ is just NOT a plot device that sits well with our generation. Y’all best believe that when Betty said “I don’t want to hurt or lose Jughead ... whatever this is, it’s just over” in 4x18 I WEEPED tears of joy and I am low key pretty sure if Betty just talks to Jughead he might actually understand. I’m pretty sure it’ll be canon that when they break up at the start of season 5 before the time jump (because honestly we can all see it coming at this point since the writers UNDID AN ENTIRE SEASON’S WORTH OF BUILDING UP BUGHEAD’S STRONG RELATIONSHIP WITH A SINGLE EPISODE) it’s going to be because they’re going to colleges that are 19 hours away from each other by car. Here’s hoping they’re still ‘endgame’ (bless Cheryl for talking some sense into her cousin).
> 
> Betty Cooper would NEVER cheat on Jughead no matter how confused she is and I STAND BY THAT. Kevin even said so in his documentary interview and I would trust Post-farmie Kevin with my life. I wouldn’t put it past Archie though since he seems to only think about being in the moment and is CLEARLY suffering from PTSD.
> 
> Prepare for an EPIC redemption fanfic lads. Here comes my version of Season 5.
> 
> PREPARE FOR OLD WOUNDS TO BE REOPENED, BECAUSE WHILE THE RIVERDALE WRITERS MAY HAVE FORGOTTEN SOME KEY ELEMENTS OF THEIR OWN PLOT I SURE AS HELL HAVE NOT.
> 
> Also did anyone notice that Toni was wearing a Serpent jacket at school in season 4? I sure as hell did. I noticed a LOT of background information in my rewatching of the series, and I am here to share it with you all.
> 
> Happy Reading.

_The Eye of the Storm: a region of calmer weather found at the center of strong tropical cyclones or hurricanes._

_A phrase often used metaphorically to describe being in the centre of a difficult, stressful or controversial situation._

_If almost getting murdered by my classmates at Stonewall was the beginning of the Storm that is life in Riverdale, then the past couple of months living with my family were the Eye._

_But that calm happiness of life had been shaken by sex tape scandals and a looming descent into teen parenthood - and the true calamity had yet to begin..._

When Archie woke up on Sunday morning, he felt like his brain had been stomped on by sixteen sumo wrestlers. He groaned, rolled onto his side, and kept his eyes closed for another five minutes, unwilling to face the light of day, nor the memories of the night before.

Eventually he forced them open, blinked away the sleep and hoped his head wouldn’t explode. He vaguely noted Reggie and Munroe had crashed out on the floor in his room; Munroe curled up in the corner and Reggie sprawled out on his back, shirtless and snoring.

Archie closed his eyes again, willing himself back to sleep. He could spare another hour before the dreaded clean-up began…

“Archie.”

_Oh shit._

Archie knew exactly who would be in the doorway. Her voice was unmistakable – despite the fact he only ever heard her refer to him as “Archie” when she was really really worried, or really really angry. From her current tone, he knew it was the latter.

His stomach tightened, as memories from the night before flooded into the forefront of his mind and shame filled his heart. _Time to face the music…_ he thought, and slowly opened his eyes again.

If looks could kill, then the glare on Veronica Lodge’s face held the power to incinerate Archie right there on his mattress.

“Ronnie…” Archie gulped.

In the house next door, Jughead wasn’t feeling much better. The first thing he did when he woke up was lean over the side of the lounge in an attempt to ease some of the nausea he felt. He was grateful to note the bucket sitting on the floor next to him, and not three seconds later he put it to good use. His throat burned, his chest hurt, and every part of him felt disgusting. He vaguely wondered if this was what dying felt like as he released the watery contents of his stomach into the awaiting bucket.

“Nice to see someone _else_ is throwing up for once.”

When Jughead was able to catch his breath, he looked up in the direction of the voice – he hadn’t noticed when he woke up, but Betty was sitting on the leather armchair next to him, legs crossed beneath her as she - _knitted?!_ She wasn’t looking at him, but Jughead didn’t sense any animosity from her as she looped yellow yarn around her pink knitting needles with determination.

Jughead groaned and fell back onto the square snake patterned cushions behind him. “I think I’m dying. Actually, no, I’m already deceased. Tell Dante that he was wrong - _this_ is the seventh circle of hell.” He threw one of his arms over the top of his eyes to shut out the light.

Betty smirked. “My mom put some water and aspirin on the end table next to your lounge before she went back to Thistlehouse. She had a ‘suspicion’ you’d need it this morning.” 

Jughead lifted the arm off his face and shifted to glance at the table, a tinge of warmth flooding his chest at the gesture from his girlfriend’s mother. He swallowed the pill with a swig of water, and hoped he’d be able to keep both of them in his stomach.

“If you’re feeling any better by the afternoon, do you want to come with me to the library? I want to study once I’m back from Cheryl’s. She somehow convinced all the girls to have a yoga day.” Betty giggled, and the sound melted away some of Jughead’s bad mood. When he looked up at her though, he noted that she had placed the knitting needles into her lap and was now looking at him intently, a cautious expression on her face.

And it’s that expression that reminds Jughead of the revelation Archie made last night, before Jughead had… retaliated. Yes, ‘retaliated’ was a good word. A safe word – it left enough to the imagination that Jughead could _almost_ pretend that ‘retaliate’ is all he did to Archie.

Jughead briefly contemplated declining Betty’s offer, ignoring the night’s events and just going back to sleep, but he knew that there was absolutely no way he’d be able to doze off while his groggy brain agonised over everything that had happened in the previous twenty four hours.

“No, Betty, we need to talk.”

Betty closed her eyes for a moment before she resumed knitting. “Please, Jug… I know what you want to discuss… and I can’t. I can’t talk about it now. I’m so stressed that I can barely function, and if I fight with you I’m going to lose the last shred of sanity I have right now. So please, _please,_ can we file this away for ‘post grad discussions’ like the _other_ thing we’re not talking about?” She opened her eyes and Jughead could see that she wasn’t being dramatic, she _was_ stressed, her eyes red and bloodshot, dark bags underneath them. The expression on her face was pained and nauseous, and Jughead wondered if she’d slept at all last night.

“No.” Jughead winced as he sat up on the couch, willing his stomach to remain inside his body. “No, Betty. We’re not avoiding this. We are going to talk about it _right now_ because bottling it all up is only going to make things worse. I love you, and I can see what keeping secrets and avoiding the truth is doing to you. I don’t want any tension between us; and trust me, if we don’t talk then there is _going_ to be tension, because I am not happy with what I found out last night and I’m even more unhappy that you hid it from me. I don’t want to fight with you either; but avoiding and deflecting and _omitting_ the truth is what gets us into fights in the first place.” Jughead rubbed some of the sleep out of his eyes, then reached out to put a hand on Betty’s knee. “As for the other stuff…” His eyes swept over the hand Betty was using to absentmindedly rub her lower abdomen. “We don’t need to come to any sort of conclusions, but we are _talking_ and it’s happening today. Also… there’s something that _I_ have to tell you, too.” The thought startled him into a feeling of complete seriousness.

Betty sat back against the armchair, her rigid posture relaxing slightly, although Jughead doubted it was because she was actually relaxed. She dropped her knitting inside a weaved basket on the floor beside her and crossed her arms. “Fine. You want to talk? You can start by telling me what the _hell_ happened at Archie’s party last night.”

Jughead groaned and fell back against the cushions. “Honestly Betty… I hope you’re comfortable there, because this is going to take me awhile. Yesterday was _insane.._.”

…. 

_The day didn’t start out crazy. Not that it was particularly normal, but for the most part the first half of the day ran smoothly._

_I spent most of my morning with my dad, helping him clean out the gutters and mow the lawns. It was a first for us. Before my parents got so far into debt that we couldn’t afford to rent an actual house anymore, I had been far too young to be doing household chores like this – though I’d sometimes try and convince Dad to let me help him push the lawn mower around the yard. I had vague memories of the two of us, with Archie and Fred in tow, hammering nails into the wooden pieces of my tiny treehouse. The memories were hazy, unclear, like trying to look through sunglasses when the lenses were covered in fingerprints. Then the trailer we moved into barely even had a roof let alone a gutter, so it wasn’t exactly difficult to maintain._

_I could tell my dad enjoyed doing menial tasks like this. I could see a glimmer of pride in his eyes every time he raked the leaves, or washed the car, or fixed a cabinet hinge whenever Alice couldn’t figure out why it wouldn’t shut properly. It was still exciting to him that he even had a house in which to do these tasks, and it made him happy. He was finally living his own version of the American Dream, and it was more than he had ever wanted._

_As happy as I was for my dad and his domestic bliss with my girlfriend’s mother (Mine and Betty’s uncomfortable semi-incest existential crisis aside), I still held firmly to the belief that my own hands were made for typing, not manual labour. But I helped him in the yard, nonetheless. We’d had far too many years where our father-son interactions consisted of drunken yelling, broken promises and resentfulness. Doing household chores together was beyond refreshing._

_Snack breaks were mandatory if I was going to do any sort of housework, so I brought some of the cookies that Jellybean made the day before up to the roof with me. They tasted sweet and savoury and absolutely delicious._

_My morning was going very well with both cookies and fatherly bonding time, and it looked like the day was going to continue much the same – when in walked Archie Andrews._

“Hey Jug, Mr Jones. JB let me in.” Archie said as he walked through the back door out into the yard. FP was fixing some kind of tool on the grass, while Jughead sat on top of the roof, snacking on a cookie. Archie reached down to pat Hotdog’s head when he ran over, happily barking at him before returning to his shady patch of grass.

“Hey there Red, coming to join in the fun?” FP teased him. 

Archie laughed. “You guys look like you have it well under control. You working hard, or hardly working up there, Jughead?”

Jughead smirked. “I’ll give you _one_ cookie if you help me get the rest of these leaves out of the gutter, Arch.”

“One whole cookie?! Well, how can I say no to that generosity.” 

FP chuckled at the pair of them and shook his head as Archie started to climb up the ladder to join Jughead.

Jughead was in a particularly good mood, for more reasons than the cookies his sister had made and the fact that he and his dad were enjoying each other’s company. On Friday night, after the girls had all left on their Greendale adventure, he and Archie had played three straight hours of video games. Mary Andrews, feeling emotional about the fact that they were growing up, had fed them an assortment of popcorn, candy bars and juice, no doubt in an attempt to preserve their childhood.

When he eventually walked back home, he noted that Betty and Jellybean were chatting away in the loungeroom, fingernails glistening and spirits high as they watched more of that insane tiger documentary they’d been watching earlier. His chest felt warm seeing his sister and girlfriend getting along and spending time together without him.

When he joined them on the couch (mainly to help them finish their popcorn), JB had made some not-so-subtle, out of the blue statements about how exciting it would be to ‘one day’ be an Aunt. Betty had already texted him to give him a heads up about JB finding out, and he was pleased to see Betty smiling to herself as Jughead gave Jellybean a fist-bump to celebrate “the future”.

Betty had seemed significantly more relaxed than she’d been all week that night. When they had eventually gone to their bedroom, the sex was a lot more fun and a lot less desperate passion than it had been the night before. The later hours of their night were filled with finding creative ways to smother the sound of each other’s moans, lest the rest of the household overhear their intimate activities. 

So Jughead woke up that Saturday morning, grinning at Betty and watching as she dressed to go with her mom to pick her sister up from Shady Grove Treatment Centre; he managed to steal a few more kisses from her before she walked down the stairs, and most of the gloomy mood he’d been in since the morning she had told him she was pregnant (and he’d been almost-arrested) seemed to evaporate.

He was pleased to see that she was still smiling when they left. While he, too, was feeling rather cheery, he knew the underlying worry about _the baby_ (and what on earth they were going to do about it) wasn’t going to disappear just because they weren’t talking about it this week. Betty had to be feeling it too, but they both had _so_ much going on in both of their lives for the next week or so, that he couldn’t fault her for vetoing discussions until later.

Archie brought Jughead back to the present by reaching into the container of cookies. Jughead smirked. “That’s gonna cost you, Andrews.”

Archie took a bite of the cookie. “Oh my _God_ this is amazing.”

“I know. I’ve eaten five today.”

Archie laughed at him. “Okay, time for me to pay my dues.” He shifted forward to start scooping leaves out of the gutter. Jughead savoured the last part of his cookie and reluctantly joined Archie, disliking the feel of the wet, dirt covered leaves in his hands.

“I’m going to have a party tonight.” Archie announced after a few minutes of silent leaf removal. “I think everyone needs to relax and let loose after the past few months of studying and preparing.”

Jughead stared at his friend. “You’re really throwing a party two days before exams? I can’t see Mary Andrews approving of that.”

Archie grinned mischievously, and Jughead was reminded of several elementary school shenanigans that ended with him, Betty and Archie in trouble with Alice Cooper. “Mom went to Chicago this morning. She’s sorting out the end of her lease and getting the last few things from her rental. She won’t be back until tomorrow night.” There was a glimmer of excitement in Archie’s eyes. “Also… do you remember when Veronica decided we should all make graduating our sole purpose in life? And then Betty helped me with all those extra credit essays? Well… they helped. They helped a _lot,_ actually.”

Jughead assessed his friend’s subtle grin and a sudden realisation filled his mind. “Archie, does this mean what I think it does?”

“If you think it means I’ve caught up enough in school to graduate with everyone next week then you would be right.” Archie was smiling unashamedly now. “As long as I pass the last of the exams, which I’m feeling pretty confident about, I’ll get my High School Diploma. I’m thinking of looking up what courses are running at Riverdale Community College next semester.”

Jughead grinned and clapped him on the back. “That’s awesome man. I’m happy for you. Hey Dad!” Jughead called out to FP, who looked up from his toolbox. “Archie’s graduating with us!” 

FP lifted some metal contraption above his head and let out a loud cheer and an excited: “Nice work Red!”

“Thanks FP!” Archie hollered back at him. To Jughead, he lowered his voice a few octaves and said: “So, as you can see, I’m in the celebrating mood.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

Jughead groaned. “I’m going to have to listen to loud music and teenage idiocy all night, aren’t I?”

“No, Jughead, you’re going to be fully _immersed_ in what it means to be a young, dumb and free teenager.” Archie tossed a small handful of dirt and leaves at Jughead then lowered his voice. “While you still can.”

Jughead felt a twinge of something: Annoyance? Regret? Gratefulness? Horrified anticipation? A mild desire to shove his best friend off the roof? He wasn’t entirely certain what the odd feeling was, but he didn’t get a chance to respond because at that moment Jellybean ran out into the yard. “Dad?! The police are at our door.” The look on her face was one of sheer panic.

And with that startling factoid, Jughead’s good mood was dissolved.

Meanwhile in the exceptionally upper-class area of Riverdale, the Cooper clan – or the Smiths, as Alice preferred to be recognised as – were rolling into the long, perfectly manicured driveway of Thistlehouse.

Betty was cautiously excited. Her sister had seemed ‘normal’ throughout the long drive from Shady Grove Treatment Centre, laughing along with their mother as they discussed the local town gossip. Well, the _tame_ local town gossip - Alice steered clear of the sex tape scandal, at Betty’s request, both women wanting to focus on helping Polly readjust to normal life and not the drama of Betty’s.

“I’m so glad you’re out of that place, Pol.” Betty was genuinely smiling at her sister from the back seat of their mom’s car. Truthfully, Betty was convinced her sister would be in Shady Grove for a long time after the incident between her and the nurse she attacked. Having Polly back in Riverdale only seven months later was an unbelievably huge win for their family.

Polly turned around in her seat to face Betty. “Me too. I can’t wait to get back into a routine with the twins. Although,” Polly’s smile wavered. “I’m a little nervous that they aren’t going to want me back… the Blossom’s have had them for a year, and Cheryl was great at bringing them in to see me when you couldn’t, Mom. But…” she sighed. “What if I’m a bad parent now…”

It was so eerily similar to Betty’s confession to Veronica the previous day that she couldn’t answer immediately. Alice was quick to answer instead. “You went through that treatment program so that you can continue to be the mother that Juniper and Dagwood deserve. They needed a healthy, mentally stable mother to bring them up and that is _exactly_ what you worked so hard to become, Polly.” Alice stopped the car and reached over to take her eldest daughter’s hand. “I’m so proud of you, honey. The twins are so lucky to have such a strong woman as their mother.”

Polly’s eyes welled up with tears. “Mom… that’s so sweet of you to say.”

“I mean it, Polly. You’ve done the right thing by those babies.” Alice reached out to pull Polly into a hug.

Betty couldn’t help it. Her eyes started to feel watery. Polly noticed. “Oh, Betty _no,_ don’t you start crying too!”

Betty let out a laugh, her voice thick. “I can’t help it, Pol. My sister is finally back. I thought I’d lost you forever.” Betty reached out to take one of Polly’s hands.

Alice was the first to recover. “You girls are both going to make me cry too if we don’t get out of this car.” She smiled at Polly, but Betty couldn’t help but notice the suspicious glint in her mother’s eyes when she looked over at her youngest daughter. When Betty was happy it filled her with a joyous glow that affected the moods of those around her. It gave Alice joy to see her happy; all smiles, bright eyes and giggles that melted her heart. While Betty was no stranger to weeping when sad or frustrated, Alice _knew_ her daughter never cried happy tears.

Polly needn’t have worried about the twins not wanting her home. They both came toddling outside screeching “Mommy!” the second Cheryl opened the front door to Thistlehouse.

Although the twins had been kept in regular contact with Polly throughout her time in Shady Grove, both she and Cheryl thought it would be better to slowly transition the kids into living with her again instead of taking them out of the home they’d spent almost half their lives in as soon as Polly was cleared to leave. So she and Cheryl had decided that Polly would move into Thistlehouse for the foreseeable future, so that the twins could re-acclimatise to living with their mother instead of having Cheryl as their primary guardian.

“You have no idea how happy I am to see you, Polly.” The statement came from Toni, who Betty knew was thrilled that the twins’ mother had returned. She’d secretly confessed to Betty not long ago that with Nana Rose’s declining health, she and Cheryl were becoming overwhelmed with the responsibility of taking over as the twins’ primary caregivers. Betty had tried to help out with her niece and nephew as much as she could, and Alice came over as often as possible to look after her grandchildren, but since the twins lived at Thistlehouse full time there was only so much Betty and Alice could do.

Polly gave Toni a hug. “Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for my kids, Toni. You and Cheryl have been so amazing.”

Toni seemed shocked at the acknowledgment, and awkwardly pat Polly on the back. “It was no trouble.” Betty tried not to roll her eyes, knowing _exactly_ how much trouble the twins had given Toni since they started walking.

Cheryl seemed like she was going out of her way to be extremely cheerful, and Betty wondered if anyone else noticed the slightly hysterical edge to her voice. “I’m in the mood for an overload of calories today! How about I place an order at Pop’s to celebrate your home coming, Pollykins? Veronica put a limited menu on Uber Eats so we don’t even need to leave the comfort of Thistlehouse.”

“Oh my God, I haven’t had Pop’s for almost two _years_ , Cheryl. Nothing sounds better than a strawberry milkshake and a fried chicken burger. You’re an absolute genius.” Polly smiled greatly at Cheryl.

Cheryl started to tell Polly about the twins favourite flavour of chilli fries, but Betty didn’t hear the end of the conversation because Jughead had sent her a message that was so chilling it made her excuse herself to go to the bathroom.

_Child protective services are at our house right now,_ the message said. Betty quickly tapped Jughead’s contact and listened to the dial tone for a few seconds before Jughead picked up.

“Betty.” His voice was strained.

“Jug, what’s going on?”

“The police just left, they were doing a welfare check on Jellybean. And now CPS is upstairs inspecting the house. They were just talking to JB and Dad before.” His voice was low, as though he didn’t want anyone to notice he was on the phone.

Betty was confused. “But, why?” she peeped her head out of the bathroom door to check if anyone had followed her, then shut the door again.

Jughead’s voice was full of shame. “I think it’s because of me.”

“It’s not because of _you_ , Jughead. You’ve done nothing wrong, especially not to _Jellybean._ ” Betty tried to think of something that would ease the distress in Jughead’s voice. “You’re an amazing brother, Jug. Jellybean talks about you _all_ the time when we hang out. She missed you so much while you were at Stonewall.”

“It doesn’t matter, Betty. I heard them talking to Dad. They were asking all these questions about where JB sleeps, if she shares her room with anyone.” He took a breath, and Betty noticed then how shaky he sounded. “They didn’t explicitly _say_ it, but I’ve gathered that they think us sleeping in the same room together is putting JB in a risky environment – exposing her to ‘adult affairs’ or something like that.”

“What did you tell them?”

“Nothing! Dad told me to keep my mouth shut and stay in the kitchen. Archie’s here with me. Hold on.” Jughead paused for a few seconds. “Sorry, I thought they were coming back downstairs, but it’s just Jellybean. Anyway, Dad told them that until you turned eighteen he asked us to keep the bedroom door open anytime we were both in there. Which is true, he did _ask_ us to.” 

Betty bit her lip, a shiver going up her spine as she recalled the events that led to her officially living with the Jones family. The day the farm ‘ascended’ Jughead was having no arguments with anyone, firmly stating: _“Betty is staying with us”,_ his arms locked around the blonde girl after they’d given their statements to the Sheriff's department. 

Of course, considering how many of Riverdale’s teenagers who’d joined The Farm were now missing (Fangs’ mother had been particularly angry about this), child protective services had gotten involved almost immediately. Betty, Kevin, Toni and Cheryl were all referred to counsellors (though Kevin was the only one who went to the sessions in the coming weeks) and Ms Weiss allowed Betty to go home with Jughead, apparently deciding she wasn’t at an immediate risk of homelessness. Days later Charles had appeared, and suddenly Betty had an adult relative in Riverdale. 

A seventeen year old staying with the town’s Sheriff must not have been a huge priority, because by time CPS got involved with Betty’s case again, it had been weeks. After a group discussion with Ms Weiss about whether living with the Jones family was in Betty’s best interests, Charles asked if (as Betty’s older brother) he could make the final call about where she lived, and twenty minutes later Betty was officially living with the Jones family.

FP was more than happy with this outcome, having apparently promised Alice he’d look after Betty if anything happened to her. _“She’s my son’s sister, after all. Family comes first.”_ Jughead had cringed a little at this, the news of Charles’ heritage still relatively fresh to him. FP’s only rule was that Jughead and Betty had to keep the bedroom door open at all times because he didn’t want any ‘funny business’ in the house.

By the Summer before Senior Year (while Alice was still at the farm) Betty and Jughead had definitely bent that particular rule. Several times FP had either pretended he hadn’t seen the closed door, or knocked loudly and called out “this door should be open, boy”. Jughead began to suspect his Dad only ever implemented the rule so he could impress Alice with his parenting skills once she returned to Riverdale, or to make sure he was being ‘fair’ for when Jellybean grew up and got a boyfriend. Heaven forbid JB ever had a boy in her room.

Betty shook her head to clear it of the reverie. “Why does it even _matter_ where we were sleeping, or how old we were? It’s not like we’ve ever done anything in front of JB!” She felt a burning mixture of anger and anxiety start to boil under her skin.

Jughead sounded out of breath again. “Maybe they think we were filming porn in our bedroom. Or worse. They think I was _forcing_ _you_ to make child porn while my thirteen year old sister was in the next bedroom.”

“It doesn’t matter what they _think,_ Juggie. We _weren’t._ ” Betty took a breath to steady her resolve. “Now, how about you go sit down and try and get your breathing under control. You sound like you’re about to have a panic attack.”

Betty couldn’t see Jughead, but she could hear his laboured breathing and suspected that the change in his voice would be due to the tightening sensation in his chest he had described to her a few weeks earlier after waking up from a nasty nightmare. “Okay.” He finally let out a long breath. “Crap, they’re coming back down, gotta go.” And with that, Jughead hung up.

Betty looked down at her phone and only then realised her hands were shaking. She couldn’t blame Jughead for being stressed; a visit from CPS was certainly an unexpected side effect of a sex tape they hadn’t even created themselves. Dark rage solidified Betty’s chest. _When I get my hands on Donna and Brett they’re going to wish they killed_ me _..._

As she opened the door to the bathroom, she almost walked straight into Cheryl. “Whoa, you scared me.” She laughed, the air whooshing out of her lungs. She put her phone in the back pocket of her jeans and tried to breathe through the anger, lest she alarm Cheryl.

“Oh, sweet cousin. Please tell me you’re not doing what I think you are.” Cheryl’s face held genuine concern. Betty’s eyebrows rose in confusion.

“What do you think I’m doing, Cher?” she crossed her arms over her chest. Her mind still racing, she struggled to keep her composure.

Cheryl sighed and led Betty back into the bathroom. She shut the door then hoisted herself up onto the marble patterned bathroom counter, crossed one leg over her knee and placed her folded hands on top. Cheryl took in a deep breath, and Betty wondered what on earth had her so worked up. 

“I’ve noticed over the past couple of weeks, cousin, that you seem to be under a _modicum_ of stress. And I worry that you might be coping with said stress… unhealthily.”

_Oh, that’s right,_ thought Betty, _Cheryl thinks I’m bulimic._ “Uh, Cheryl, I’m okay, honestly…”

Cheryl held up one hand, and made a noise of dismissal. “Cousin, please, you don’t have to pretend with me, we’re family. I know you are going through a tough time; after everything with Jughead and his fake death, that invasive sex tape getting out, trying to maintain your 4.1 GPA, Archie being in love with you,” at this statement, Betty stiffened, remembering Cheryl’s comment about how real her and Archie’s fake dating seemed to her. “and your mother shacking up with your boyfriend’s father, who had a secret love child that is now in your life, forcing you and Jughead to face the fact that you are practically siblings – it’s no wonder you’re so stressed! But I want you to know that you don’t have to do this to yourself. You are blossoming into a gorgeous young woman and food is an essential facet of maintaining a healthy body and mind.”

“Cheryl, I-” Betty tried to cut in, but Cherly wasn’t finished.

“No, no, sweet Betty, it’s okay, I just want you to know that I am here for you if you need to talk.” She slid off the counter and put her hands on Betty’s shoulders. “Whatever happens, we are family and if that means I have to talk you off the edge – or away from the toilet bowl – then I will do so.”

Betty just stared, completely lost for words, then slowly moved her arms up to pat Cheryl’s hands. “I really don’t know what to say, Cher…”

Cheryl nodded, as though she had been expecting this. “There’s no need to say anything. If you’re not ready to talk about it, that is okay. But I vow to assist you in recuperating in whatever way possible. Starting with some healing of the ‘mind, body, spirit’ – we are going to do yoga tomorrow with Polly and Toni. It’ll be fun for Daggy and Juni as well – the twins absolutely _adore_ yoga. I’ll even invite Veronica over.”

Betty was overcome with emotion. How had Cheryl gone from the nasty piece of work she’d been at sixteen to the supportive friend-slash-cousin who was earnestly trying to make Betty feel better? Unable to come up with a response, Betty wrapped her arms around Cheryl and pulled her into a hug. Cheryl dutifully stroked Betty’s hair and whispered: _it’s all going to be okay, cousin._

There was a knock on the door, and a gentle voice floated through. “Betty? Cheryl? Are you guys okay in there?” the door opened slowly to reveal Polly, a concerned look on her face. “Betty, are you _crying?_ ”

Betty stepped away from Cheryl and touched the wetness on her cheeks. “There must have been something in my eyes…” she muttered feebly. _Great, now I’m not just a mess, I’m a weepy mess,_ thought Betty.

Cheryl looked between the two sisters briefly, then patted Betty’s cheek. “Betty, I told you, you don’t have to pretend to be okay with family.” She put an arm around Betty and then faced Polly, a serious look on her face. “Your dear sister is sick, Pollykins. But she’s going to get better.”

“You’re sick, Betty?” Polly’s pale face held genuine concern. Betty felt a stab of guilt for worrying her sister even slightly. She wanted nothing more in that moment than to tell Polly the truth. But Polly had only _just_ been given clearance to come home, and Alice had made it very clear to Betty that she needed to be gentle with her sister for the time being. _“I swear to God Betty, I had better not hear you telling Polly about Jughead’s latest conspiracy theories while she’s still adjusting...”_ Her mother’s voice rang through her head. While not a conspiracy – Betty was _definitely_ pregnant – perhaps telling her sister about it would fall under the title of ‘things that will overwhelm Polly’.

And for the first time, Betty was startled with the fact that Polly was only _sixteen_ when she got pregnant. _Sixteen._ When she’d found out Polly was pregnant, Betty was only fifteen, and she still saw Polly as her much more mature, much more confident big sister who could do anything and had a lot of wisdom to share.

But now Betty was older than Polly had been when she’d had the twins. What the hell would she, Betty, have done if she’d gotten pregnant at sixteen, the first time she’d slept with Jughead? How would she have coped? Could she have given birth that young without the support of her babies’ father? If Betty had gotten pregnant the night of Veronica’s confirmation, she’d already have a baby right now - a _toddler_ , even. _Unless my dad had killed me for the sin of it…_ the dark thought floated through her mind.

Betty stood stock-still as she considered how out of control Polly’s life had gotten over the past three years. It was no wonder that, with a serial killer on the loose targeting ‘sinners’, Polly had gone all-in with a cult that had promised to protect her, and to embrace her and the twins for exactly as they were. Her heart had been shattered and she didn’t feel safe in her own home… it was no wonder she’d run away from the evil that lurked in the shadows of Riverdale.

It took her a moment to realise that she hadn’t responded to Polly, and that both girls in the room were staring at her. She opened her mouth: to say what, she didn’t know – maybe a denial? A confession? A brush off of their concerns? But she was filled with nausea again, and knew she wasn’t going to be able to hold it in.

More forcefully than necessary, she tore out of Cheryl’s arms and spun around, gagging as she sunk down in front of the toilet bowl. She felt Cheryl’s hand patting her back as she struggled to throw up quietly. The anxiety she felt wondering if her mother would hear her and come into the bathroom to investigate gave her another wave of nausea.

“I don’t think Betty’s _sick,_ Cheryl…” Polly said from the doorway. “You go help Toni figure out the Uber Eats situation, I’ve got this.” Cheryl didn’t move, and Betty couldn’t look up at either of them. “I’m _fine,_ Cher, don’t worry about me.” Polly said with determination.

Betty was able to register the sound of the door closing, and then there was only the sound of her own gasping and groaning as bile clawed its way up her throat. This continued for another few minutes, until Betty was able to sit back on her heels, both arms clutching the sides of the toilet. She looked up at Polly, who had at some point slid down between the bath and the toilet bowl to rest against the wall and wait for Betty to finish throwing up.

Polly gave her a sympathetic look. “I don’t know why they call it morning sickness. It lasts all damn day sometimes.”

Impossibly, Betty breathed out a single laugh.

Jughead Jones, however, was far from amused.

“Boy, I don’t want to hear that you did something stupid.” FP watched worriedly as Jughead buckled the strap of his bike helmet. He handed Betty’s helmet to Archie and pulled on his leather Serpent’s jacket.

“We’re going for a ride, Dad, not drag racing the Ghoulies.” Jughead’s sarcasm had more venom than a snake bite. He kick-started the engine of his motorcycle then settled in to mount the seat. “Now, Archie, I’m going to say, ‘get on the back and hold on tight’, but I humbly request that you try to remember I’m not your girlfriend.” He gave his friend a smirk.

Archie rolled his eyes in response before shoving the bike helmet on his head. If he was being honest, Archie didn’t think FP was overreacting by cautioning his son. He, too, was mildly concerned that Jughead was going to do something stupid. 

The change in Jughead’s attitude after the social workers had left the house was the biggest clue; he’d gone from near-hysteria on the phone with Betty, to an icy calm as he promised Jellybean and FP that he was _absolutely fine_ and that he and Archie were just going to head out for a bit. Archie knew Jughead well enough to pick up on the fact that when Jughead was suppressing his emotions, whether that be out of fear or anger, he tended to _react_ with determination – especially when he felt there was justice to be dealt.

_Maybe we aren’t as different as people think_ , mused Archie, thinking of his ill-fated vigilante days as he climbed onto the back of Jughead’s motorcycle.

Jughead was used to having Betty on the back of his motorcycle; her arms wrapped around his middle, her chest pressed right up against his back and the tantalising feel of her thighs against his always made the ride more exciting. He couldn’t help the laugh he let out when Archie awkwardly wrapped his arms around his waist and held the rest of his body as far from Jughead’s as he could.

They ended up riding the bike around Riverdale for a good half an hour, and Jughead could feel the tension starting to leave his body. Staying focused on the road and the feel of the wind rushing past was a great distraction from the piles of stress that were stacking up in his head. The main issue was, obviously, the social workers. But they hadn’t taken Jellybean away, which was his biggest concern when they arrived, so for the time being he was able to hold the panic at bay. He still had so many questions - like _why had they shown up in the first place?_

Despite what Betty seemed to believe, Jughead was almost certain that it had something to do with him. It seemed like too much of a coincidence that only a few days after he’d been questioned about creating child pornography, child protective services and the _police_ had shown up to do a welfare check on his thirteen year old sister.

Jughead eventually drove over the bridge to the South Side, fighting the urge to flip off Hiram’s prison as they passed it. He noted the way Archie’s arms tensed around him, and decided he wasn’t alone in that sentiment.

On a whim, Jughead decided to check out who was at the Serpent’s clubhouse, and as he drove towards it he could see Sweet Pea’s motorbike parked out front. He pulled his own bike up next to it, and killed the engine.

“Did you know,” Archie muttered, pulling the helmet off, a mildly-spooked expression on his face, “that you drive like a crazy person?”

Jughead let out an exhilarated laugh. “Sorry, Betty always gets upset if I don’t follow the speed limit, so I may have taken advantage of your quiet acceptance.” He pulled his own helmet off and hopped down. “I have a _Need for Speed,_ Arch. Indulge me.”

“That was more like _Fast and Furious,_ Jug.” Archie rolled his eyes as he awkwardly stumbled off the bike. “What are we doing here, anyway?”

Jughead placed his helmet on the seat of his bike. “I haven’t been here since last week, figured I may as well check in.” He led Archie to the door. “Also, Sweet Pea wanted to talk to me at school the other day but I kind of blew him off when everything happened with Betty. His bike’s out the front.”

Sweet Pea was playing pool with Jinx and Fangs when Jughead and Archie walked in, and Jughead noted that a couple of the other high school aged Serpent’s were loitering around the table.

“Jones. Great timing.” Sweet Pea shoved his pool queue into Fangs’ hands. “Why isn’t your dad answering his phone? We’ve been calling him all morning.” 

“The gates of hell have opened in our house today. He’s busy.” Jughead’s lips thinned into a straight line. “What’s been happening—”

“Is that you, Red?”

The voice came from a Serpent standing behind Fangs that Jughead hadn’t noticed when he walked in. Jughead knew all of the teenaged Serpents personally; he’d been their leader for over a year before his dad took over again after he moved to Stonewall. And the Serpents were loyal to them both. But this Serpent, despite appearing to be their age, was not one that Jughead recognised. 

So it came as quite the surprise when Archie seemed to not only recognise him, but be friends with him.

“ _Slash?_ ” Archie’s face broke into a grin. “They let you out already?”

Jughead glanced between them. “You two know each other?”

Slash made his way around the table to bump fists with Archie. “Why, yes FP Junior, Me and Mr Not-So Clean-Cut go way back.”

Archie laughed and Jughead’s confusion grew more. Perhaps it was the overload of stress he’d been under the past couple of days, but Jughead just could not put two and two together. _Who is this guy and why does he know me? Why does he know_ Archie?! Jughead was about to contemplate this further when Sweet Pea tapped him on the shoulder. 

“I need to talk to you.” He gestured to the back door and turned to walk out. Jughead followed him, leaving Archie with Slash and the other boys.

Once the door was closed behind him, Jughead leaned back against the brick wall of the building. “Sorry I’ve been MIA this week, Sweet Pea. I’ve been… dealing with a lot.”

“Don’t worry about it Jones. No need to explain. We all saw that tape.” Jughead managed to withhold the cringe his body wanted to let out. “Speaking of which… do you want the bad news, the very bad news, or the very, _very_ bad news?”

Something in Jughead’s chest dropped into his stomach. “Well, we’re certainly off to a positive start.” He joked.

Sweet Pea rolled his eyes. “Let’s start with the bad news. You saw Slash in there, yeah?”

Jughead pursed his lips. “Yeah… should I know him?”

“Nah, he got busted for selling weed long before you got to Southside High, so I don’t think you’ve met him. He was in Juvie with Joaquin and Archie.”

“Oh. _Oh._ Actually, Archie has mentioned him before. If memory serves, he’s the one that convinced the other Serpents in Juvie to start protecting Archie.” Jughead made a mental note to thank Slash for that later. 

“Yes, exactly.” Sweet Pea nodded. “He just got out of the juvenile wing of Hiram Lodge’s prison because he turned eighteen last week. And he has some _interesting_ stories. Apparently the prison is where Lodge is basing his Rum production.”

“So prison slave labour is how Hiram Lodge is making his money.” Jughead rubbed his fists over his eyes. “I don’t like it but I don’t think it warrants the look on your face right now.”

“You haven’t let me get to the bad news yet.” Sweet Pea started pacing. “So a couple of days ago Slash told me that before he got out on parole he heard from some other inmates that Hiram is back in the drug business. Rum isn’t the only thing they’re cooking up in that place.” Sweet Pea stopped pacing and faced Jughead again. “The _very_ bad news is that it’s already hit the streets… and it’s being handed out for free, courtesy of the Ghoulies, who’ve apparently formed again.”

Jughead let out a huff. “ _Great._ Perfect. Just what we need right now.” Jughead pulled his beanie out of his pocket and shoved it onto his head. “If the Ghoulies are back… that might mean Penny is too. Or Malachai…or both of them if we’re _really_ lucky.” The venomous sarcasm reared its head again. Jughead thought back to the last time he’d seen Penny, when she had teamed up with Kurtz in that sick ‘quest’ to save Jellybean. Kurtz - who’d been a part of the Ghoulies before most of them became addicted to Fizzle Rocks and started wearing Gargoyle masks. Maybe the Ghoulies had actually reformed a while ago but had been lying low. Penny _had_ been wearing a Ghoulies jacket that night… 

Sweet Pea nodded. “That’s what I was thinking, too. And it’s partially why we’ve been calling your dad today.” He reached into his zipped up jacket, and pulled out a black object. “But it’s not the _only_ reason.”

He tossed the object to Jughead, who caught it. It was light to hold and made of firm plastic, and Jughead instantly realised it was a video tape. “What’s this?” He choked out after taking a moment to stare at the video in horror.

“The very, _very_ bad news.”

…..

“So what was on the tape?” Betty asked, her eyes wide. 

His mind back in the present, Jughead refocused his attention to her eyes and away from the blanket he was twisting around in his lap as they recounted the events of their days. He was now sitting up on the couch, feeling better since the aspirin had kicked in. “I haven’t watched it yet. I wanted to, but it felt wrong to watch it without you.”

“Me?” Betty’s face bore the shock she felt. She had, at some point during their catch up, moved to join Jughead on the lounge he’d been sleeping on that morning. “Why? What has that video got to do with me?”

“That’s what I needed to discuss with you.” Jughead shifted to face her, and reached out to put his arm against the top of the lounge so he could rub Betty’s shoulder. “The video had one of those white sticker labels you see on old-school home movies. It said ‘Level Five Quest: Capture the Serpent’ and just beneath it was ‘Water Nymph: Bonus Points’.”

“Okay… so should we play it now and find out what’s on it? The video player is still connected to the TV out here.”

Jughead squeezed her shoulder lightly. “We don’t need to. But if you want to watch it later I’ll move the TV upstairs. Sweet Pea…” Jughead paused, debating whether or not to tell Betty the whole truth, then let out a sigh. He’d near-demanded the _whole_ truth from her, he couldn’t very well hide anything from her now. “Sweet Pea got to the Serpent HQ yesterday and a couple of the guys from school were already there. They told him that the tape had been left in front of the door and they weren’t sure what to do. Pea tried calling dad but he didn’t answer - probably because we were both working in the yard - so he decided they may as well watch it on the VCR player that’s connected to that old TV.”

Betty shuffled a little closer to Jughead. She could see how upset Jughead was about what he was telling her, and for a moment she wondered which of them was going to need the other’s support more by the end of this conversation.

“Sweet Pea thought that at first it looked like the Voyeur tapes, because it seemed like someone had taken a recording of Tent City. The camera was focused on our old trailer, so it had to have been recorded either early last year or the sometime in the year before. And that made everything more confusing - the voyeur wasn’t making their videos until _well_ after we moved to the North Side. But then the boys started to fast forward the video and they realised that whoever was recording the video wasn’t just making surveillance, they were following someone. They were following… me.”

Betty tensed up at this. Now she placed her own arm over Jughead’s. A feeling of dread started to seep into every cell of her body, but she said nothing, hanging on the threads of Jughead’s words.

“I was walking along the river in my Serpent jacket. The person followed me into the forest, ducking behind trees and keeping their distance. And then, from what Sweet Pea told me was on the rest of the video tape, I think I know exactly when it was made.”

“That’s good, right? That’s the sort of information we need to figure out who was following you.” Betty’s optimism almost made Jughead smile.

“Betty… before I tell you anything else, just know that none of the other Serpents saw anything because Sweet Pea turned the TV off the second he realised what was happening on the screen. And then he started calling my dad again so he could turn the video over. I put it in my dresser drawer upstairs. Nobody ever has to see it.”

Betty’s eyes widened. “Oh, God. What was it?”

Jughead scratched the top of his eyebrow. “Do you remember, about two or three weeks into junior year, before we started meeting up at Dilton’s bunker, when you asked me to meet you at Lover’s Lane?”

Betty just stared at him.

“And when I got there you were sitting on the hood of your car in your cheerleading uniform?”

“I remember… that was just before I returned my uniform after I quit the team, right? Wait, ‘Capture the Serpent’ - Oh my God. Someone was watching us? _Someone recorded us having sex in the woods for a Gryphons and Gargoyle’s quest?!”_ Betty said ramrod straight now, and her comforting arm on Jughead’s became a death grip. “The Serpent is a character in G&G, isn’t it? And the Water Nymph… that must be the Eldervair version of a River Vixen.” Betty knew exactly what the camera had captured. 

“Yeah… I think the “Capture the Serpent” quest was interpreted by whoever was playing to mean ‘capture’ in the ‘video capture’ kind of way. They were probably just going to record me walking around; maybe they weren’t even targeting me specifically, any Southside Serpent could have fulfilled the quest… and then it could have been bad luck for us that I happened to be meeting up with you that day. There’s no way they could have known that’s what I was doing… unless I told whoever was recording me.”

“I can’t imagine _you_ telling anyone you were heading over to what was, at the time, Riverdale’s most notorious hook up spot.”

“Exactly.” Jughead fiddled with the fabric of Betty’s pyjama shirt, unsure of what else to say to her.

“I can’t believe this is happening again.” Betty struggled to speak steadily; her throat felt like it was squeezing itself shut. The hand that wasn’t holding Jughead clenched into a tight fist. She was _not_ going to let herself cry over this, pregnancy hormones be damned.

“Hey, no, don’t.” Jughead placed his hands on the sides of Betty’s face, and gently stroked her cheeks. “It’s _not_ happening again. This isn’t like Brett’s video. I have the original tape, and I’m not going to let anyone see it, ever. That thing is not going online on my watch.”

Betty smiled back at him and savoured the feel of his hands for a moment before she slid closer and cuddled into his side. He wrapped both his arms around her and let his cheek drop onto the top of her head. 

“So,” Betty asked, “how did you go from finding that to...?”

“To what happened between me and Archie?” Jughead asked. “Well…”

….

“Maybe we shouldn’t do this.” Archie had stated as Jughead parked his bike for the second time - this time at the grocery store in the Southside that sold alcohol. Archie - being the one with the fake ID - was on beer duty; Jughead put himself in charge of obtaining snacks.

“This party was your idea, Arch.” Jughead manoeuvred himself off the bike, took off his helmet and headed towards the doors of the store. “And honestly, I can’t think of a better way to figure out which idiot decided to record me and Betty having sex, and leave the video at the Clubhouse of a biker gang, than by getting all the suspects into the same place together.” He ran his fingers through his hair and then shoved his beanie on. 

Archie seemed to be choosing his words carefully. “I get that you’re upset Jug, but there are some gaping holes in your plans here. Like the fact that half of the people that played that stupid Gargoyle game are either too young to be at Riverdale High or have already graduated and left Riverdale for college.”

“Well it’s a _start_.” Jughead stopped just short of the store’s doorway. “And at the very least, whoever left that video at the Serpent HQ is still in Riverdale. If I have to guess I’d say that person knows me and Betty personally. Maybe they’ve been sitting on the footage for a while and seeing the video of us having sex at Stonewall triggered them to do something with it. There’s just no way this can be a coincidence.”

Archie nodded. “Even so… maybe you should call Betty before you do anything drastic.” 

“No.” Jughead faced at Archie, his face a contortion of rage and despair. “She’s trying to focus on her sister right now. I’ll tell her when she gets home. And _you’re_ not going to tell her either. That’s my job, she’s _my_ girlfriend and it’s the two of us in that video, nobody else. This is for us to figure out with each other - just like our sex life should still be.”

Jughead’s voice cracked a little at the end of his rant, so he coughed into his fist to try and clear the tightness from his throat. He took a deep breath and shut his eyes for a few seconds. He needed to calm down; getting riled up wasn’t going to help him investigate anything. 

“I could have been arrested for that other video, Archie.” Jughead opened his eyes to look at his best friend. “And this new video tape… me and Betty are _both_ sixteen in it. It’s a lot closer to actual child porn than the one that’s circulating the internet. And even though I apparently am _clearly_ unaware of the camera in the video, I was unaware of the camera in the other video too - but the FBI were still willing to blame it on me before. Who’s to say they won’t do it again if they find this tape?” Jughead squared his shoulders and made his way through the doorway. “I’m getting to the bottom of this before anyone else tries to blame me for this despicable violation of mine and Betty’s privacy.” 

He stomped off in the direction of the tortilla chips, and Archie watched him nervously, a pit of worry forming that had nothing to do with the guilt he was feeling. Because Archie was hiding something from Jughead, and if he found out about it now, in his fired up and angry state... then it could be the very thing that would finally make Jughead explode.

A mere two hours later and most of Archie’s friends from the football and basketball teams, Reggie and Munroe being the only ones Jughead cared about, had joined the boys in the backyard of the Andrews’ house. Some of the Serpents who went to Riverdale High were there as well (Sweet Pea, Fangs, Weasel and Jinx), as was Slash - who seemed equal parts intrigued and scandalised by the tales of sexual and athletic exploits the Bulldogs were retelling. 

As the sun started to set Jughead helped Archie start a fire while Reggie hooked up his phone to a Bluetooth speaker. For all his talk about partying it up, Archie seemed especially keen to keep people out of his house. Perhaps limiting the mess to one place would be a smart move; considering the _“Party @ Archie’s 2nite”_ texts that were circulating the student body, Jughead doubted it’d remain wholly outdoors for long.

“Can you please try and have a little fun tonight, Jug?” Archie broke Jughead out of his thoughts. 

Jughead crossed his arms. “I’m not big on parties in general, Arch. And I kind of have a one track mind tonight.”

“Exactly.” Archie used matches to light some of the kindling and kept his gaze on the growing flames. “You want answers. You’re angry. And you have a right to be.” Archie looked at Jughead’s face for a moment, then averted his eyes. For the first time all day, Jughead thought he saw a flash of something dark in his best friend’s expression: was it pain? Hurt? Guilt? He didn’t get the chance to decipher the mood Archie was in before he continued. “All our problems are still going to be there tomorrow. Can’t we just try and enjoy being teenagers for a few hours?”

Jughead didn’t think he could possibly shut down the simmering anger that had been stirring below the surface since the police had walked into his house, but as he assessed the intense stare Archie was giving the fire, he wondered if perhaps he wasn’t the only person having a rough day.

“Archie, is something wrong?” Jughead asked cautiously.

Archie wouldn’t meet Jughead’s eyes. “I mean, Riverdale has some crazy perv filming people without their consent, that’s pretty wrong, right?” Archie huffed an unamused laugh.

And still, Archie wouldn’t meet Jughead’s eyes.

“Dude, something _is_ wrong.” He put a hand on Archie’s shoulder. “I’ve known you since I was born, man. Don’t bullshit me. What happened?” Jughead lowered his voice, though between the intoxicated laughter from the boys around them and the music playing through Reggie’s speaker, he doubted anyone would overhear them. “And don’t give me some spiel about the unfriendly neighbourhood voyeur.”

Archie’s gaze stayed on the fire - which had grown significantly - for a few more seconds before he shook his head and plastered a smile on his face. He looked at Jughead and said, “Nothing, bro. I think I just need to slow down on the beers.” He backed away from the fire and reached into the nearby cooler. “You, however, haven’t had nearly enough.” He handed one to Jughead, who accepted it with an eye roll.

Jughead couldn’t help but note the nervous energy that was surrounding Archie. How had he missed it before? His best friend wasn’t nearly as stressed as Betty, but there was definitely a sense of dread that seemed to be leaking out of him. As Jughead thought about it, Archie had seemed down the past couple of weeks; much less full of ‘pep’.

Was Jughead so absorbed in his own problems that he couldn’t see how out of sorts Archie had become?

He instantly knew the answer - _yes_. Jughead had certainly been preoccupied for most of the week. Truthfully, he’d been pretty preoccupied for the past few months. 

Since March he’d been attacked and almost killed, survived CPR, slipped into a coma for 36 hours, put in FBI witness protection, faked his death, gone underground (literally), untangled a messy web of lies and corruption linked to _eight_ murders, confronted _his_ would-be-murderers, dealt with insane nightmares, had insomnia for weeks, attended high school like nothing had happened, caught up on what he’d missed at Riverdale High and completed three essays to make up for the History and Literature class credits that didn’t transfer from Stonewall Prep, registered for college classes and residency, been a half-assed drummer for Archie’s garage band/musical vanity project, gotten his eighteen year old girlfriend pregnant, had _multiple_ sex tapes come to light, was nearly arrested for one of them… and now CPS was invading his family’s home. _And_ Penny Peabody mighty be back on the South Side. 

_Yeah, maybe I have been too preoccupied to notice Archie going downhill,_ Jughead realised, feeling a tad guilty. 

Jughead’s end goal for the night was to scour the student body for suspects, which the rational part of his brain knew would likely be futile. But he had to do _something._ Anything to get a start on sorting out the mess he was in.

But maybe by the end of the night he could figure out what mess _Archie_ was in, too. 

Across town at Thistlehouse, some time after Jughead began his investigation of the student body, Betty cuddled with Juniper in the Twins’ nursery. She watched as Polly talked to Dagwood in the sweetest, gentlest voice she’d ever heard out of her sister’s mouth. Dagwood giggled as Polly dressed him in his pyjamas and blew raspberries on his cheeks.

“You’re a natural at this motherhood thing, Pol.” Betty said, admiring the way Polly interacted with her son. 

Polly gave Dagwood a high-five before he clumsily ran over to jump into his toddler bed. “Every woman is a natural, they just don’t know it until they give birth. Parenthood _is_ natural, Betty. You’ll be a natural at ‘this motherhood thing’ too when you have kids.” She gave Betty a pointed look, but didn’t elaborate.

Betty’s eyes widened and she snuck a glance at their mother, who was folding some of the twins’ clothes. “Ooh, I dunno about that Polly, parenthood definitely didn’t come naturally to me.” Alice seemed not to have over-thought Polly’s statement. “It took me a _long_ time to figure everything out. Every woman is different, girls. Don’t let anyone make you feel otherwise.”

“Did someone make _you_ feel that way, Mom?” Polly asked, a dash of concern on her face. 

Alice brushed off the question. “Everyone gets lots of different opinions thrown at them when they have a baby. I’m sure you can relate, Polly.” 

“Ugh, _Yes,_ honestly. At The Farm the women were always telling me what I should and shouldn’t be doing with the twins. I think I was in too much of an ‘I can do this myself’ power trip for it to _really_ affect me, but that is why I left and tried to start fresh in San Francisco after Clifford’s Will reading. As much as The Farm’s doctrines resonated with me, I was in no hurry to go back. Not that _that_ lasted long.” She chuckled and shook her head. 

Betty felt anxiety rising in her as Polly casually mentioned The Farm. Out of all the ex-Farmies, Polly had the hardest time adjusting to reality. In the days after Edgar had strapped a bomb to her chest the paranoia, nightmares, insomnia and delusional behaviours she had led to her diagnosis of Depression, Clinical Anxiety and PTSD - and her admittance to Shady Grove’s facility. It worried Betty to hear her talking so calmly about the Farm at all - but then again, Polly never was one to ignore her past. And wasn’t the whole point of her treatment to help her get better?

“Honestly, the only thing I care about right now is getting back to a new normal with these two.” Polly continued. She tucked Dagwood in under the covers and kissed him on the forehead. He closed his eyes dutifully, and wiggled a little bit to get comfortable.

Juniper clung to Betty as Polly walked over to pick her up. “No bedtime.” Juniper said stubbornly, a scowl on her little face.

“Juni naughty!” Dagwood shouted from his bed. His eyes were now open, but he looked at Polly and quickly shut them again, apparently trying to prove he was the well-behaved ‘good twin’.

Juniper crossed her arms. “Where Aunty?” Her blood red lips pouted.

“I’m legit holding you right now, Juniper.” Betty brushed her fingers over Juniper's red locks of hair. 

“Come on Juniper, it’s bedtime, sweetie.” Polly held her arms out for her daughter, but Juniper put her head on Betty’s shoulder. 

“No!” Juniper’s little voice wobbled. “Juni want Aunty.”

“You want me to put you to bed, Juni?” Betty asked, patting Juniper’s back.

“No. Want Aunty.” Tears welled up in Juniper’s eyes.

Polly stood up straighter, a cool mask of composure sliding into her features. “She wants her Aunty _Cheryl_.” Polly stated flatly, and Betty realised Polly was hiding a slither of pain in her eyes.

“It’s going to take her time to adjust to a new routine. Don’t take it to heart, honey.” Alice walked over to the group and crouched down to eye level with Juniper, who was still clutching at Betty and eyeing her grandmother cautiously. “Aunty Cheryl is at work, Juniper, but she’ll be back later and when she is she’ll come give you a kiss goodnight.” She stroked the girl’s hair. “How about you come lay down and Mommy will read you and Dagwood a story?”

Juniper didn’t looked convinced, but after a few seconds she held her arms out for Alice to pick her up. 

Betty watched the exchange and noted the relief on Polly’s face when Juniper settled down under the covers. The twins both wanted Polly to sing to them instead of reading, so Polly nervously started to sing a sweet lullaby that Betty remembered their mom singing to them in their own childhood. Polly seemed to grow more confidence as she smoothed the blankets over both twins; Juniper started to close her eyes and curled her little hand around one of Polly’s fingers.

Finally the twins fell asleep and the three women crept out of the nursery. 

“How’d it go?” Toni asked as they joined her and Nanna Rose in the sitting room. 

“Dagwood was easy… Juniper started fretting for Cheryl a bit, though. Luckily mom was there or we might have had hell getting her to bed.” Polly wrapped her arms around her middle, a lost look on her face. 

Toni seemed to be thinking carefully about what to say. “Juniper can be very clingy with Cheryl, especially when she’s leaving for work. That’s why she usually sneaks out the front while we distract Juni.” Nanna Rose chuckled at this. “But when Cheryl told the twins you were coming to live here, they were both so excited. Juniper literally wouldn’t sleep until two in the morning. She’s asked us every day, several times a day, for about two weeks if: ‘Mommy stay forever?’ Or ‘Mommy come today?’ Or her favourite ‘Where mommy?’. I’m sure she’ll be all over you in a couple of days, and I don’t say that as an exaggeration.”

This seemed to cheer Polly up a bit; she let out a long breath and sank down onto the plush sofa. “Thanks, Toni.”

Toni smiled at her. “It’s alright. Um, if you guys don’t need anything, I might head out for a bit. There’s some alcohol fuelled fiasco happening at Archie’s house, and Sweet Pea is hounding me over Snapchat to get there.”

“Of course, Toni. Mom, Betty and Nanna Rose are all here if I can’t cope.”

Toni called Sweet Pea almost immediately once she’d made the short walk outside to her blue motorbike. The cool air of the night sent a chill up her spine, which she promptly shook away. 

“Please tell me you’re on your way.” Sweet Pea sounded a lot less drunk and a lot more serious than Toni expected. 

“Will you relax? I’m about to start my bike. What’s got you all worked up, anyway.”

“What? Am I not allowed to want to see my favourite Southside Serpent?” Sweet Pea joked, then let out a sigh. “It’s Jones. He’s actually drunk for once, but I don’t think it’s a good thing. He’s a lot moodier than usual and he keeps bringing up Griffins and Gargoyles.”

“ _Jughead_ is drunk? Never thought I’d see the day.” Toni mused; she’d seen Jughead drink before, obviously, but he always seemed to nurse the same beverage for hours.

“Yeah, me neither. Usually I’d be pleased, but something’s off with him.” Toni heard laughter in the background of the call, and then a groan from Sweet Pea. “A lot of people are here, like half the school, and heaps of them are talking about Jughead and Betty’s sex tape.”

“Great.” 

“Yeah, I think that’s what has Jones in a mood. Well, that and the fact that someone left _another_ sex tape at the Serpent’s hangout earlier.”

“ _What?”_

“Yeah, don’t mention it while you’re here, Jones was _fuming_ when I gave it to him.” A chorus of ‘chug chug chug’ almost drowned out the rest of Sweet Pea’s words, but Toni managed to hear them. “Jones has _definitely_ heard people talking about the other tape, though. And he keeps telling Red he’s fine, but…”

“But he seems like he’s about to snap?”

“Yeah. I tried to convince him to ditch the party but he’s on some crazy vendetta. He never listens to me, but maybe you can talk some sense into him before he starts a fight with every guy here.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be there soon.” Toni kick-started her bike. “So much for the cops telling everyone to shut up about it at school yesterday.”

“Yeah, look, earlier some of the boys were teasing Jones about how his dad is trying to ruin his porno career by making everyone delete the video, and I’ll admit it’s just been going downhill from there. This one idiot said he had the sex tape on his phone still, and I actually thought Jones was going to kill him for a second there. Munroe kicked his ass out though and now some of the guys are playing truth or dare. Someone dared Jughead to take as many shots as he could in thirty seconds, and I don’t think I need to explain why _that_ was a bad idea…” 

“Alright, alright, I get it. I’m coming.”

The party was in full swing, music blaring and cars parked everywhere along Elm street, so Toni was prepared for a lot of things when she arrived at the Andrews’ house. Drunk, angry Jughead was right at the top of the list. Somewhere in the middle was cynical conspiracist Jughead. She even considered that maybe he’d be similar to his usual quiet and brooding self, but an intoxicated version of that.

So once she’d gotten through all the people and the loud mess of drunken teenage idiocy that was happening in Archie’s kitchen and lounge room, and made her way out the back door, she was astonished to find Jughead in the state he was in.

“Toni!” He called cheerfully. He stood up from his lawn chair (which was part of a circle of chairs around a small fire pit) and stumbled over to her. Toni could smell the liquor on him before he even made it over to her, slightly spilling the drink in his hand. “Thank _God_ you’re here. The testosterone levels in this backyard are far too high. We’re in serious need of some female company.” His speech was clear and understandable, but the way his voice kept changing inflections betrayed his level of intoxication. She could see right through the bullshit and knew instantly that his ‘cheerful’ mood was a charade; something dark was brewing in Jughead’s eyes.

“There’s like, five girls out here.” She said incredulously, and gestured to the group of girls who were laughing and chatting beside the fence that connected to the Jones’ property. Aside from them, there were only about twelve other people sitting around the fire (all boys, so he technically wasn’t _wrong_ ).

Jughead shrugged. “You can’t expect me to _count_ in these treacherous times, Topaz. And I’m not _really_ talking about the _people,_ per-say. I’m referring to the men's locker room-style hot topic of the evening.” He leaned closer to her and mock-whispered. “Did you know that Betty and Jughead made a _sex tape?!”_ In a very un-Jughead-like move, he fake-gasped and put a hand up to his cheek. “No? Well, please allow me to give you a run down of the details. Jughead’s _really_ good at eating, didn’t you hear? That’s why they call him Jug _head_ Jones.” Jughead gave a short, humourless laugh. “Not that _you’d_ believe it, I’m sure. What was it you said about my adolescent make out skills? _‘A PG-13 grope session?’_ Dude, that shit _stuck_ with me. Way to wound a teen’s ego.” 

“Holy Shit, Sweet Pea was right. You’re _wasted_.” Toni raised both her eyebrows and crossed her arms, genuinely shocked. And slightly annoyed.

“I’m not _wasted,_ I only had…” he paused for a moment, and counted the fingers on his free hand. “Whoa, I’ve never lost count before… first time for everything, right?”

“Right… Jug, maybe we should go back to your place.” She placed an arm on his shoulder.

Jughead groaned and shrugged her hand off. “Oh my _God_ not you too. I’m sick of you girls just _hitting_ on me.” 

“ _Wow,_ that is so not what I meant.” 

“Seriously, I’m not interested. I have a girlfriend. Which _everyone_ knows because they’ve all watched me fucking her.” 

Sweet Pea appeared behind Jughead. “Yeah… you definitely need to stop drinking.” He retorted, and tried to reach out and take the red cup from his hands.

“Sure thing, _Mom.”_ Jughead said, backing away from Sweet Pea. “Huh. I wonder if my mom has seen my sex tape yet.” Jughead’s eyes widened for a moment before he stared down into the red cup as though the swirling liquid held the answer.

Sweet Pea gave Toni a pointed look and shrugged as if to say: _See? What did I tell you?_

Toni tried a different approach. “Jug, do you really want to stay here and listen to people talk shit about your relationship?” She took a step closer to him. “Me and Sweet Pea will happily listen to you ranting all night if you want, but let’s do it at your house where we won’t be overheard.” 

Jughead didn’t look up, and Toni wondered if he was even listening. She contemplated actually calling FP to come and get him for a moment, when Jughead finally spoke.

“I need to figure this mystery out. It feels like…” Jughead paused, and when he spoke again his voice was thick with emotion. “Like no matter what I do, things keep trying to destroy us and I just keep failing to protect the ones I love. What’s the point of even trying?”

Sweet Pea’s eyes widened in alarm. She didn’t blame him, Jughead’s words worried her too. Her worry didn’t last long, though, because Jughead quickly changed the topic. 

”I _love_ having sex.” Jughead stated. Toni tried to suppress a groan and failed miserably. “No, not with everyone, guys! Just with Betty. We were both virgins when we started dating. So we discovered everything together, you know? It’s not like we started out as experts or anything, and there was a bit of a learning curve, but we’re _really_ good at it now.”

“We _really_ don’t need to hear this.” Sweet Pea quickly went from worried to embarrassed, his cheeks turning a little pink. 

“Do you know what it’s like sleeping next to your girlfriend every night? It’s _great._ Fantastic. We have sex almost every day now, and we wake up together every morning. It’s always warm in our room, even when it’s cold, because we’re with each other. I was missing out on _so_ much by living at Stonewall.”

Toni couldn’t help but grin. “I do know what it’s like, actually.”

“But now… what if every time we’ve done it, which is a _lot,_ you guys…” Jughead said seriously.

“We get it, Jug.” Sweet Pea pinched the bridge of his nose.

“... what if someone has been watching us?” Jughead’s lips scrunched up into a frown. “How many more tapes of us are out there?” His voice broke and he looked down at the ground. “Someone has been spying on us, and I can’t keep Betty safe from them. People are acting like I’m this champion pussy slayer,” Toni physically cringed at that, “and Betty’s just some dumb _slut_ because of that stupid video. And all we did was have sex! With _each other_. Like we’ve been doing since sophomore year. Because we are in a long term, committed relationship. Why am I getting praised for that while she’s getting socially beaten down and _shamed_ for it? This is messed up, guys. So messed up.”

“Alright, first of all, I never want to hear ‘pussy slayer’ come out of your mouth again.” Toni stated firmly. Sweet Pea nodded in agreeance. “Second of all, you’re right; this _is_ messed up, Jughead. I can’t imagine what you and Betty are going through. But this isn’t your fault. Some creep did this, and if you want to find out who it was your friends will help you, right Pea?” 

“Exactly.” Sweet Pea said.

“See? But you know what’s not helping? This.” She reached out to grab the cup, and after a tense second Jughead finally released it. 

Sweet Pea sighed in relief.

“The Jughead I know doesn’t drink and spiral out of control.” Toni stated.

“I’m not spiralling out of control.” Jughead crossed his arms and started leaning against Archie’s house.

“You’ve asked, like, twenty people if they ‘took G&G off board’, tried to start some ‘Secrets’ game I’ve never even heard of, did seven shots of tequila and then challenged Archie to a beer sculling competition.” Sweet Pea’s voice demonstrated that he was far from amused.

“It’s called _Secrets and Sins,_ Sweet Pea. And I had a plan for that game.”

“Oh yeah? Please, tell me your plan. I’m all ears.”

Jughead shut his eyes. “I wanted to, you know, expose the sins of our classmates.”

Toni shared a look with Sweet Pea. “You thought you could trick someone into confessing they put your sex tape online, didn’t you?” She chose her words carefully, not wanting to remind him of the tape left at the Serpent Den.

Jughead said nothing. 

Toni exhaled and leaned her back against the house. “Great plan, Jughead. Fail-safe. When has anyone ever lied during a high school party?”

“Shut up…” Jughead muttered weakly.

Sweet Pea squared his shoulders. “Okay, I’m over this. Let’s go to yours, Jughead.”

Jughead snapped open his eyes. “No, we can’t.”

“Why the _hell_ not, Jones?”

“My dad is probably home now and he can’t know I’m this drunk. It’ll upset him. Besides…” he stood up straight and took a step towards the fire. The alcohol seemed to be catching up with him, because he stumbled as he walked. “I can’t leave Archie while he’s down.”

“He seems fine to me.” Noted Toni. She gestured to the other side of the fire pit, closer to the back of the property. Archie (who had no shirt on for some reason) was laughing with a couple of the boys from the football team and several of the Serpents, including Fangs. As Toni assessed the group, Kevin - who she hadn’t noticed was sitting in a lawn chair near the fire - sauntered over to them.

Jughead shook his head. “Nah, he’s all broody and cynical, that’s _my_ thing.” 

Sweet Pea started to follow Jughead and Toni as they made their way towards the group of boys. “ _Fine,_ we’ll stay, but you’re officially cut off.” 

_By the end of the night, Toni would wish she’d called FP when she had the chance._

_The hour of fun we had with Archie, Kevin, Fangs and the rest of the boys was not worth the douchebag drama that was about to unfold…_

“You’re my _best_ friend in this entire world, bro.” Jughead, unfortunately, was no longer his eloquent self; the countless drinks he’d had over the afternoon and evening had well and truly caught up to him. 

Archie had both hands on Jughead’s shoulders. “Bro, you’re more than my best friend, you’re my _brother_.” The two boys must have been overcome with some kind of shared emotion, because seconds later they were embracing.

“And they said the term ‘bromance’ was dead.” Kevin shook his head. “Can you two get a room, already?” He called out, but neither boy stopped hugging the other.

“This is actually painful to watch.” Said Sweet Pea. 

Reggie laughed. “I don’t mind. It’s kind of hilarious.” 

Toni just rolled her eyes. The four of them - along with Fangs - were all standing together, drinking and watching whatever the hell was happening between Jughead and Archie. She sent a text to Cheryl telling her what she was missing, or more accurately, what she _wasn’t_ missing, and went back to watching the ‘bromance’ that was happening in front of her.

“I’m the worst friend ever, Juggie. I don’t deserve you.”

Jughead pulled out of Archie’s arms. “Don’t _say_ that, Arch. You saved my life, bro.” He had a worried - and wasted - look on his face as he studied Archie. 

Archie shook his head. “Nah man, that was Betty.”

Jughead shook Archie a little bit. “Dude, you helped her give me CPR and carried me through a forest on your _back.”_ Jughead paused for a minute as though to make Archie think about that. “You literally saved my life. And then you got arrested and pretended to date Betty just to help me figure out who killed me. I’ve been arrested before, Archie. It sucks. It means a lot to me, that you’d do that for me.” Jughead started to sway unsteadily, but he quickly righted himself.

“When the hell were _you_ arrested, Jughead?” Fangs asked.

“He went to Juvie in fifth grade for arson. I saw it in my dad’s notes when he was investigating Jason Blossom’s murder.” Kevin said casually.

Jughead and Archie seemed not to hear either of them, because they continued as if there was no interruption. “I never should have pretended to date Betty, Jug. That was a… _bad_ idea. I feel so bad for kissing her behind your back.”

“Arch, man, don’t feel bad. It wasn’t really behind my back if I knew about it. It was all fake, it didn’t mean anything.”

Archie looked down at his shoes.

Jughead’s body seemed to stiffen. “It didn’t mean anything…” he repeated. “Right, Archie?”

Archie just looked up at Jughead, and it was then that Jughead saw it again. The pain in Archie’s eyes. The guilt. The shame - and in one startling moment, Jughead realised who it was directed at.

Him.

Jughead stepped back away from Archie. “Oh my God, kissing Betty _meant_ something to you.” In less than a second the slight red tinge Jughead had from the alcohol disappeared and his face went completely white. “You _like_ her.”

“Tea.” Kevin whispered dramatically. Reggie elbowed him. Toni had a very bad feeling about where Jughead and Archie’s conversation was going.

“Juggie…” Archie started to talk, but no words would come out.

“What? What are you going to say Archie? That you’re sorry for lying to me about your feelings for _my_ girlfriend?” Jughead’s words were still slightly slurred, but their meaning was clear to the circle of friends standing next to the two boys. “You _promised_ me it wouldn’t mean anything.” 

“I… I didn’t realise, Juggie. Not until after…”

“Until after _what,_ exactly? Until after you kissed her in the music room? Until after you pretended you were making out in the bunker? _When_ Archie?”

“What the hell is happening?” Slash asked Sweet Pea. He’d noticed the tenseness of the group and had come to investigate.

“I have literally no idea.” Sweet Pea replied. None of the others could do anything except watch. 

“After the variety show…” Archie responded.

“The variety show? Archie, that was like… almost two months ago.” Jughead’s voice became steadier, but he was clearly still wasted. “What the hell happened then that made you start liking her?!”

“It was a few weeks after the variety show. She was helping me study for a catch up test… she suggested I take a break so we went into my garage and I showed her some songs I wrote…”

“I do _not_ like where this is going.” Toni whispered to Sweet Pea. They both noticed Jughead’s demeanour had started to change. The more Archie spoke, the tighter Jughead’s facial expression became. The drunk haze in his eyes seemed to be turning into anger, and his hands were balling into fists.

“We started talking about when we were in middle school and how easy life was back then…” Archie continued. “I got… confused.”

“You got _confused_ about what, exactly?” There was no mistaking it now; Jughead was pissed off.

Archie looked like he was ready to bolt back inside. “I just started thinking, what if I never got in the car with Miss Grundy… what if I just started sophomore year without _her_ in my head...”

“What did you do?” There was no emotion in the question.

Archie looked like he was biting his lips together. “I just… I forgot myself for a second… I forgot about everything and it was like we were kids again. Back when we were all just happy and carefree and anything seemed possible.”

“What. Did. You. Do?” Jughead repeated. He was clenching his teeth so hard that his words sounded forced.

Archie looked pleadingly into Jughead’s eyes. “I’m sorry Jughead… I kissed her.” 

Everyone in earshot went silent. 

Jughead appeared frozen. 

Nobody knew what to do, or what to say. It was like a car accident: horrible to witness, but impossible to look away from. They had all become observers in this awful car wreck of a conversation. Archie shifted nervously.

And just as Archie had predicted would happen, everything that had been piling up in Jughead’s brain finally pushed him over the edge. “Are you _fucking_ kidding me?!” Everyone tensed up, ready to intervene as Jughead took a step towards Archie.

“I didn’t mean to. It just _happened,_ Jug.” Archie, in his defence, did seem legitimately miserable.

“Oh so it was an accident, then? You slipped and landed on her mouth?” The sarcasm was so thick it almost counteracted the alcohol.

Archie ran a hand through his hair. “Ahh… kind of?”

“I can’t _believe_ you, Archie. I thought we were friends.”

“We are Juggie, I’m sorry, I never wanted to hurt you.”

“Well you have a funny way of showing that!” Jughead’s voice was raising, and a few curious onlookers were glancing over at them. “We’re clearly not _real_ friends, because real friends don’t kiss each other’s _girlfriends,_ Archie!”

A fire started burning in Archie’s eyes. “That’s some bullshit coming from you, Jughead.”

Jughead stuttered for a second, momentarily lost for words. “Coming from _me?_ What the hell does that mean, Andrews?”

Archie stood up taller, and became more intimidating than any of his friends had ever seen him. “Oh, _save it,_ Jug. Or are you telling me you _forgot_ that you kissed _my_ girlfriend right in front of me?!”

“This is like a soap opera.” Kevin whispered to Toni.

“I know, right? Should we… like, stop them?” She replied.

Kevin frowned. “I don’t think anything is going to stop whatever _this_ is.”

“To be honest, Archie… yes, I did forget about that.” Jughead actually took a step back in shock.

“Well I sure as hell didn’t. Because you did that to hurt _me,_ Jughead. And it worked.” Archie’s face now mirrored some of Jughead’s anger.

“That… that was Veronica’s idea. And I thought she was joking! I didn’t think she was actually going to do it.” For his part, Jughead looked momentarily stricken.

“So, what, she overpowered you? You were such a helpless victim who just couldn’t stop Veronica Lodge from kissing you?” 

“Fuck you, Archie.”

“No thanks, _Juggie,_ that’s Betty’s job.” 

The insult didn’t even completely make sense, but that didn’t stop what happened next.

Faster than anyone could anticipate, Jughead’s arm swung back and then thrust forward with all the force he could muster. His fist collided with the side of Archie’s jaw with a sickening _smack,_ and the redhead stumbled back a few steps. A chorus of “Ooohhh” erupted from some of the people in the yard, and Archie wiped his chin with his thumb. It was bleeding. 

“You know what, Jug? Fuck _you.”_ Archie growled before he swung back at his friend in retaliation.

“Oh shit.” Said Sweet Pea as he and Fangs moved to grab Jughead.

Archie and Jughead got several hits on each other in what would have turned into a brutal and bloody brawl had their friends not been there. They both ended up on the ground grabbing and wailing on each other. Archie managed to maneuver his arms enough to punch Jughead in the eye. Jughead head butted Archie in revenge; Fangs and Sweet Pea dragged Jughead off Archie, though he didn’t make it easy with how much he struggled against them.

Slash and Reggie each grabbed one of Archie’s arms and hoisted him to his feet. They then held him back as he tried to run at Jughead again.

“Stop it!” Yelled Kevin, getting in between them. “You’re both acting like total idiots.”

“Let go of me.” Jughead demanded through his teeth. “I’m not done killing this _idiot.”_

Archie barked out a laugh. “Like _you_ could beat me in a fight.” 

“How about we _don’t_ try and find out!?” Toni suggested as she joined Kevin in the middle of the testosterone fuelled mess.

“Jughead won’t be able to help himself. He _has_ to use that brain of his to find out _all_ the answers.” 

“At least I _have_ a brain.” Jughead shouted back.

“Are you calling me stupid?”

“Well if the varsity jacket fits, Archie.”

“Both of you just _shut up!”_ Kevin yelled. Surprisingly, they both stopped struggling with their captures and turned their attention to Kevin. “Now I don’t know when you both became drunken douchebags, but this crap stops now.” 

After a few more seconds, the boys on both sides seemed to think it was safe to let Jughead and Archie go. Neither made a move towards each other; Toni felt a surge of relief.

Kevin looked between Archie and Jughead. “Are you both good?”

“No, Kevin. I’m pissed.” Jughead’s shoulders were heaving, and his left eye socket was starting to swell.

Archie just stared at Jughead. The anger appeared to have mostly deflated from Archie; he now merely looked defeated.

Kevin crossed his arms. “Okay, well, here’s an idea. How about instead of throwing punches like crazed animals, you try actually _talking to each other?”_

…….

Jughead reached up to touch his eye. It twinged a little bit, but he didn’t care. He’d been through way worse than a punch in the face from Archie Andrews.

“Did you guys end up talking?” Betty asked.

Jughead sighed. He now had his head resting in her lap, his back against the cushioned seat of the lounge. Betty had been trailing her fingers through his hair for fifteen minutes, and it was one of the most soothing things he’d ever felt.

“Kind of. Kevin dragged us into the garage and Archie very sincerely apologised.” Jughead took Betty’s free hand and entwined their fingers. “It was kind of hard to stay mad at him when he started crying…”

“He _cried?_ ” Betty’s voice held a slither of guilt.

Jughead nodded. “He’s still so messed up about Fred, I think. It was hard to tell because he wasn’t making much sense after the sobbing started…” Jughead sighed. “Honestly, it got to the point where I just wanted to forget about our fight and achieve his end goal of ‘trying to have fun’ because he was just _so_ sad, Betty. I’ve never seen him like that. It was scary. And it sort of worked; but mainly because when we came out of the garage together Reggie started blaring Taylor Swift’s _Love Story_ through the speaker as a joke. Everyone laughed but then Archie reminded me of how many times _you_ forced us to listen to it in eighth grade, so we hyped up Kevin and then we were laughing and singing it to other… not very well, mind you.”

“Funnily enough, I saw that performance on several different instagram stories. Quite the plot twist considering the actual fight to the death that was posted fourty five minutes earlier.” 

Jughead cringed. “I am _never_ drinking again.” He rubbed some more sleep out of his eyes. “I need to talk to Archie some more, now that we’re sober and less likely to kill each other… but I think I’ll wait a couple of days. I’m still pretty pissed off that he kissed you, and I’m not sure I’m in the best state of mind to have that conversation with him.”

Betty looked away but kept running her hands through Jughead’s hair. “I should have told you when it happened.”

“Yes, you should have.” Jughead’s hand tightened around Betty’s. “What exactly stopped you?”

She kept looking down at where her hands played with Jughead’s hair. She wouldn’t meet his eyes, and Jughead felt an old anxiety creep in; that, if given the choice, Betty would leave him for Archie. He spent so much of his youth envying how easy Archie’s life was, how nice his parents were to him and each other, how girls always seemed to like him… one blonde friend of theirs in particular (though it took him until sophomore year of high school to figure out that feeling was partially stemmed from jealousy). 

“I didn’t say anything because we were finally happy.” Betty began, and Jughead noticed her eyes were beginning to water. She cleared her throat and continued. “You were officially back, Riverdale had no killers on the loose, our relationship was stronger than ever, our _family_ was stronger than ever… and you’d finally stopped having those nightmares.” She met his eyes. “It seemed like we were getting the chance to just be _normal,_ for once, whatever that means.” She breathed a short laugh. “I just… I didn’t want to jeopardise the good times when we _finally_ seemed free from the darkness this town plagues us with.” 

Jughead reached up to wipe a stray tear away from Betty’s cheek. “Still, Betts… you can’t keep things like that from me. I deserve to know when one of my friends goes behind my back and tries to steal my girlfriend.” 

Betty groaned; Jughead fel the vibration of it in his head. “He can’t steal me from you, Jug. I’m not an object.”

Jughead froze for a moment. Then his whole body went rigid and he sat up quickly. “No! No, of course not, I didn’t mean it like that, I was just using the expression…”

But Betty had already started giggling. “You should see the look on your face right now. Don’t panic, I’m not about to accuse you of misogyny.” She went back to running her fingers through his hair as he relaxed back into her lap. “I would have told you about Archie eventually, I promise. I just wanted to wait a while… mainly until Archie had figured out a way to talk to Veronica about it, and if he doesn’t do it soon, by the way, I’m telling her myself. But also,” Betty placed her hand on Jughead’s cheek. “He’s your best friend, Juggie, and I didn’t want to be the one to ruin that friendship.”

Jughead rolled his eyes. “Yeah well, trust me, if anyone’s going to ruin things for himself, it’s Archie. In saying that though… I think _I_ should apologise to him, too. For kissing Veronica that one time.” When Betty scoffed, Jughead shook his head. “No, seriously. He brought that up, and while at the time I thought it was just to deflect some of the blame off him, he did kind of have a point. In any case, me and Archie need to talk if there’s any hope of us keeping the bromance alive.”

Betty smirked. “You’re such a dork.”

“Yep, and don’t forget _weirdo._ ” 

Betty let out a real laugh this time, and Jughead stayed where he was, smiling up at her and admiring the momentary joy that befall her beautiful face. Archie Andrews wasn’t going to break them up - and Jughead couldn’t help feeling the tight warmth of emotion that made its way up his throat when he was struck by the fact that in a sense, Archie _had_ changed his mind and decided he wanted to be with her, just like Jughead had told her would happen at his ill-begotten sixteenth birthday party. 

And even with Archie wanting Betty… Betty had still chosen Jughead.

_Betty really loves_ me _over anyone else._ It could be his own ego taking over, or maybe it was genuine naivety, but Jughead felt that he wouldn’t need to worry about anything else that came up if that simple fact was true.

Speaking of worrying…

“So, now that we’ve moved on from _that_ topic… can we please talk about the _other_ thing?” Jughead noted the mild desperation in his own voice.

Betty absentmindedly started to rub her lower abdomen again. “What do you want to talk about, specifically? There are a lot of things we need to figure out… and we probably won’t have most of the answers until I see a doctor at the very least.”

“Okay, lets start with that. When do you want to go?”

Betty pursed her lips. “Well, Planned Parenthood has walk-in appointments, and I won’t need to use mom’s insurance to see them, so no risk of her accidentally finding out I went there. But they’re closed on Sundays _and_ they’re in Centerville.”

Jughead nodded. “Okay, after the Literature exam tomorrow morning we’ll ditch the rest of the day and go to Centerville.” Jughead paused. “Wait, I forgot about the Chemistry exam. Do you have work after school? Maybe we can go straight after Chem?”

Betty smiled. “That sounds like a plan.”

“Alright, great. Awesome.” Jughead tried to think of something comforting to say, but he was swimming through uncharted territory and all he could do was reach out to hold Betty’s hand.

A car horn sounding from outside made both of them jolt in surprise, but as Betty glanced out the window she couldn’t see anyone in front of their house. Assuming it was someone just driving past, possibly angry at another passerby, she continued to stare out the window, lost in the sea of her own thoughts.

Jughead eventually sat up and shuffled around on the couch to face her. He took both of her hands in his own and said her name. She turned to face him, a solemn expression invading her features. 

“We don’t need the all the answers right now. I promise you that. Whatever happens I will support you and be there for you, every step of the way. But I do need just _one_ answer…” he held her gaze and though his mouth was dry he swallowed. Then in barely a whisper he asked: “Do you want to keep this baby?”

More tears welled up in Betty’s eyes. They were slightly swollen and bloodshot, he realised, and her cheeks held traces of the red puffiness he’d seen at school just before she dropped her bombshell on him; Jughead wondered how much had she been crying over the last few days.

And although every inch of her looked to be filled with terror, every fibre of her being screamed that she was crashing and burning - a mess of hormones and fear for the now-uncertain future - her voice was steady, firm, and without even a hint of hesitation when she responded.

“Yes.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I almost made Jughead kiss Archie in revenge, because that’s the state of mind I’m in lads. Next chapter will be up tomorrow


	10. Long Intervals of Horrible Sanity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FP goes ‘full parent mode’ on Jughead, Veronica tries to get answers from Toni and Betty, and Jellybean assists Jughead with his plan to help Betty.

Chapter 10 - Long Intervals of Horrible Sanity

_“All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.”_

_A quote from one of Edgar Allan Poe’s poems that resonated with me throughout my teen years._

_I saw it often reflected in the actions of my classmates. The incessant worry about how they ‘seem’ to others. The questioning of reality when they’re betrayed by a supposed friend._

_Years ago, I started to wonder how I appeared to those who walked by me in my booth at Pop’s, or the hallways at school, or down by the docks as the sun was setting._

_I may have seemed like a typical moody teenage boy, angry at the world for objectively no reason. No one saw the true reality: that I was a homeless runaway living off the cash my dad would sometimes transfer me (whenever he actually had money) and the crap wage I made working at a run-down drive in._

_The drive-in itself was a dream I held onto desperately with every last thread of hope - seeing my family back together; my father sober, my mother happy, my sister safe._

_And even when that dream came true, it was all still just an illusion. A smoke screen for my mother’s ascension into the kingdom of crime._

_The happy and healthy Jones family just became another dream within a dream._

_Of course, today I found a new meaning behind that suggestive quote…_

“For fuck’s _sake_.”

Jughead groaned as he swiped through the instagram stories of his fellow Riverdale High students. When he’d phished his phone out of his pocket after Betty left, he realised he had gotten a few text messages the night before; mostly from Jellybean asking if he was okay, and one from Betty telling him to be careful and she’d be home as soon as she could wrench Alice away from Polly. There was one from Sweet Pea that merely said: _lol you’re in shit_ now _dude. Good luck :P_ along with a little peace hand emoji.

On instagram, his close friends had mostly posted the typical drunk selfies and funny group shots that always made their way online after a party. He was even in a few of those thanks to Archie’s insistence.

There was one video from that night, posted by Fangs, that he didn’t hate. It showed the Southside Serpents in attendance chanting the lyrics to the chorus of “Gangster’s Paradise”, Sweet Pea being the most enthusiastic of the group. The Jughead on the phone screen seemed begrudgingly amused by it all, standing with the others and nodding his head in time with the rhythm in lieu of singing.

The rest of the posts were so out of character for him that he had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. Surely, the person in those videos wasn't _him,_ it had to be some kind of eerily accurate doppelgänger. 

To be fair, he wasn’t the _only_ centre of attention from that party. Reggie, for instance, had wowed the crowd with a keg stand that warranted a ‘#sohot’ on a few of the River Vixen’s stories. Some girls had even started an impromptu dance floor in the kitchen (those videos mainly had ‘#living’ or ‘#highschoolneverends’). 

And of course, there were the ‘#nohomo’ and ‘#brosbeforehoes’ captions on the videos of Jughead and Archie exiting the garage to the tune of Taylor Swift. 

Jughead’s cheeks burned when he scrolled through Kevin’s instagram story. “They go from punching each other to this…” was written over a video of an overexcited Archie (shirtless) and Jughead looking significantly inebriated - both boys shouting _‘Marry me Juliet you’ll never have to be alone! I love you and that’s all I really know…”_ with their hands on each other’s shoulders.

Jughead couldn’t remember the moment Reggie had recorded, though, which was more than a little disconcerting. _“Juuuughead. Jughead._ Jughead. _Brooo what’s the latest news?”_ Is what the drunken mess that came out of Reggie’s mouth _sounded_ like.

The Jughead on that particular video was sitting with his back against the fence, head straight forward, the camera pointed at the left side of his face. _“Who’s Jughead?”_ He responded, then rolled his head to the side to meet Reggie’s eyes, a smirk on his face. _“I’m Forsythe Pendleton Jones_ The Third! _”_ Both boys then started laughing.

Jughead swiped out of that video quickly.

The only video he found that had _almost_ nothing to do with Archie’s party was one that Toni had posted sometime that morning. It was captioned “Best Hangover Cure”, and featured Polly and Cheryl singing a really sweet song to the twins, who appeared captivated by the performance from their mother and aunt. Alice was in the background of that video, smiling fondly at the scene in front of her.

The worst videos had to be of him and Archie’s fight. Several different angles of Jughead throwing the first punch. Archie saying _fuck you_ to him and swinging back his arm. There was Sweet Pea and Reggie’s struggle to hold both of them back before Archie used some kind of advanced boxing move that put Jughead on the ground. Jughead somehow managing to wrestle out of Archie’s arms and gain the upper hand. Jughead straddling Archie as Archie punched him. 

Jughead cringed at the sound that came through the speaker when phone-screen-Jughead slammed his forehead on phone-screen-Archie’s face.

There were also a lot of recordings of their argument immediately before the fight. Way too many people had posted Archie’s accusation: _“...you kissed my girlfriend right in front of me?!”_ with whatever scandalised hashtags the poster seemed fit. It was humiliating, though Jughead was relieved that no one seemed to have posted anything about Archie kissing Betty. 

Jughead could only imagine how much more negative attention Betty would get if _that_ got around the school. He’d much prefer their classmates to see _him_ as the enemy for kissing Veronica than have Betty’s name dragged through the mud even more. 

“I know that look.”

Jughead’s head whipped around. He was so lost in his investigation into Archie’s party that he hadn’t heard his dad come in through the back door. FP stood behind the lounge Jughead was sitting on, his arms crossed and an annoyed look on his face.

“Feeling any shame this morning Jug?” FP continued. “Disgusted with yourself? Wondering what the hell you did last night?”

Guilt swelled up in Jughead’s chest. “Dad…” 

FP raised his eyebrows. “Am I wrong?”

Jughead looked away. “I’m sorry.”

“You _should_ be.” FP walked around the lounge to stand in front of Jughead, his arms still folded. “I’ve got a question for you. If you can answer it, you’re not grounded.”

_“Grounded?!_ Dad, you’re not serious.” Jughead stared at FP, confusion mounting his hungover brain.

“As serious as a shot to the heart, boy.” FP grumbled and placed his hands on his hips. The gun holster around his waist shifted with the movement, and Jughead had the strangest urge to gulp. “How did you get home last night?”

Jughead opened his mouth to respond. “I… I walked home…” but as he thought about it, he realised that try as he might, he couldn’t actually recall _leaving_ Archie’s house. In fact, there was an entirely blank space in his memory that started in Archie’s kitchen and ended with him waking up on the lounge that morning. 

“Walked? I wouldn’t call that _walking_.” FP sat down in the leather armchair that Betty had occupied hours earlier and leaned back, eyes scanning his son. “You have no idea, do you?”

Jughead said nothing.

“That’s what I thought.” His arms were back to being crossed over his chest. “Charles went and got you and practically carried your stumbling ass back here.” 

Jughead rubbed his hands over his face. “Charles was at Archie’s?” 

“No, Charles was hanging out here with me and Jelly. We could barely hear each other over the top of the noise next door, though.” FP waited for Jughead to look up at him before continuing. “Jellybean saw some videos of you and Archie in some kind of punch up, then acting like loose cannons all over the internet and she got worried. _Really_ worried. You really upset her, Jug.” 

Jughead didn’t think it was possible to feel worse than he already did. “I really am sorry. But me and Archie were fine afterwards.” _Mostly. Kind of. Maybe._ Jughead internalised. “JB didn’t need to be worried.”

“Oh really? You can’t think of any reason why seeing her big brother acting like an alcoholic mess might be upsetting for her?” FP’s eyes were piercing, and Jughead was reminded of the look on FP’s face months ago when he caught Jughead drinking at the back-to-school party Cheryl hosted.

“Dad…”

“That’s how it starts, Jug.” FP stated flatly. “It feels great after the first few drinks, and you think to yourself _one more can’t hurt._ You’re the life of the party, until one day you take things too far and can’t face what you’ve done. So you drink _more_ because that’s the only way to feel better.”

“Are you really lecturing _me_ on drinking right now?” 

“Yes.” There was no hint of forgiveness in FP’s voice. “Because you know what? I’ve been where you are. It’s only downhill from here Jughead. I’m not going to sit back and watch you destroy yourself.”

Jughead couldn’t help the incredulous feeling that replaced some of the guilt he felt. “Dad, I’ve been drunk _once_ in my life. I don’t think we need to alert AA just yet.”

FP’s eyes tightened, and Jughead felt a pang of regret for making the AA comment. “My old man used to put the beer bottles in my hands.” FP stood up and started to make his way to the kitchen. “And what good did it do me? No good, that’s what.” His eyes scanned his son once more before he turned around. “I'm _not_ happy with you drinking. So, yeah, you’re grounded.”

“Dad, you can’t ground me, I’m _eighteen._ ”

“You think _that_ makes you an adult, boy? Start acting like one and maybe I’ll believe you.” 

Jughead groaned, and turned on the couch to watch FP as he rummaged through the kitchen cupboard. “You’ve literally _never_ grounded me before. Not even when I was fifteen and stole your car and took it for an unlicensed joyride after mom left. What’s the point of starting now?” 

FP started brewing coffee in the machine on the counter. “Because I’ve got three more months before you’re running off to college with your girlfriend in another state and I can’t keep an eye on you anymore. _Three months._ ” He turned around and leaned against the counter, his eyes meeting Jughead’s. “You think I don’t know what college kids are like? Partying, drinking, drugs - I’m sure everything will be easier to get a hold of when there’s no parents sniffing around.”

“Seriously, Dad? It’s an Ivy League school. I don’t think it’s going to be crawling with miscreants.” Jughead’s heart did a little jolt as he realised he and Betty _still_ hadn’t figured out if they were going to New Haven at the end of August. No need to bring that up with FP, though… 

FP shook his head. “Don’t care, boy. I’m not having your sister think I’ll accept that kind of behaviour from her when she’s in high school.”

“So you’re grounding me to prove a point to Jellybean?” Jughead felt slightly annoyed. 

“I’m grounding you because you were blackout drunk while underage, and I had to send your brother to go get you before you passed out. Good thing, too, because you spent the next two hours vomiting. I would have dragged you out of there myself, but I’m still the Sheriff until Hiram pulls his finger out and finds a replacement, so I would have had to shut it down and I don’t want to spend my last few weeks on the job writing kids up for underage drinking.” FP reached back into the cupboard and pulled out two mugs. “You want coffee?”

“Yeah, sure.” Jughead reached up to run his hands through his hair, and only then did he realise something was missing. “Wait, where’s my beanie?” Anxiety started to raise its ugly head.

“I’m sure you’ll be able to find it next door while you’re over there helping Red clean up the mess in that house.”

Jughead sat up straighter. “ _Dad_. No, please, I don’t want to see Archie right now.” 

“Tough shit, Jughead.” FP poured the coffee. “I had Mary Andrews calling me worried last night, because one of my deputies called her cell phone to let her know there was a noise complaint at her house. She was certainly surprised to hear about Archie’s little soirée.” 

There was no way his dad had come up with ‘little soirée’ on his own. That had to have come from Alice’s influence.

“I told her not to worry and that the house would be back to normal before she got home. So you drink this then get your hungover ass over there and help him get everything back in order.” FP handed the mug to Jughead. “Archie doesn’t have his dad there to pull his head in anymore.” FP took a sip from his own mug. “I don’t know what happened between you and Archie, but you boys grew up together, and he was there for you when I wasn’t. So you’re gonna step up and be a good friend to him, Jug. If he’s acting like an idiot I’m sure there’s a good reason.”

Jughead wasn’t sure what to make of FP suddenly deciding he was a parenting expert, but he didn’t argue. It may be a weird reaction to have, but Jughead was strangely proud to see his dad having his shit together and doing a normal dad thing like _grounding his son for drinking_. And Jughead was startled by how glad he was that he even _had_ his dad there with him, grounded or not. 

It wasn’t fair that good parents like Fred Andrews were dead, and yet manipulative scumbags like Hiram Lodge were allowed to roam free. Jughead allowed himself to feel a twinge of sympathy for Archie, who’s dad had _always_ been amazing, and yet was still taken from him too early. 

Maybe FP was right about Archie’s behaviour having extenuating circumstances… 

… 

“If you girls need anything, please call me. I can come back any time.”

“ _Mom,_ we’re fine. You can’t keep missing work just because I’m out of the nut house, the good people of Riverdale need to see the face of their favourite anchor actually show up on their TVs.”

“It’s not a _nut house_ , Polly, it’s the best mental health treatment centre in the State of New York. I made sure of that before you went there.”

“I know, I know. Please just try not to worry so much about me, I can’t get in that much trouble _here_ …” 

Betty tuned out of the discussion between her mother and sister. She couldn’t deny that Alice was being more than a little over-protective of Polly, hovering nervously like she often did when one of her daughters were sick or injured. But at the same time, Betty was equally nervous, worried that at any second Polly would snap back into the delusional void she’d been in for months. 

“Mom, I promise, nobody's ever died from doing _yoga_.” Polly told her mother incredulously.

“That _we_ know of.” Toni whispered dramatically to Veronica. Veronica disguised her laugh as a cough.

Betty smirked as she looked over at Toni, who was grinning. Their eyes met, and Toni’s mood seemed to shift, the smile sliding off her face as she studied Betty intently. Betty blushed and looked away, focusing her attention to the twins; Juniper was dressed in adorable toddler-sized leopard-print workout clothes, and Dagwood had on a cute orange T-shirt with a lion on the front.

Everyone was very ready for yoga. Mostly Cheryl, who was dressed in blood red yoga pants and a matching crop top, and so wound up that Betty could almost _see_ the energy vibrating off of her.

By the time Alice left, Betty was significantly excited about having a distraction. The girls all laughed as the twins tried to copy Cheryl’s various yoga poses, and Veronica thanked Cheryl profusely: _“I really needed something calming after the morning I’ve had!”_

Betty tried to concentrate on the stretch and pull of her muscles, and not the nausea and uncomfortable tightness in her abdomen. For the most part, the peace and zen that Cheryl promised the previous day was felt by all. 

Within an hour, though, the twins were getting tired and cranky, so Cheryl assisted Polly with getting them down for a nap. 

Almost as soon as the group of four moved up the stairs and out of earshot, Veronica descended on Toni. “I need to ask you something.”

Toni stiffened on top of her yoga mat for a second, then spun around and crossed her legs beneath her. “Is it about last night?” She asked, a weary expression on her face.

Betty felt a slither guilt for the first time in several weeks for not telling Veronica about Archie yet, but remained silent. She was still struggling to come to terms with what had happened, and was lost as to how to deal with that particular issue.

And if she was being honest, as selfish as it sounded, Archie’s feelings were pretty low on her list of priorities. Veronica’s, however? Her feelings meant a lot to Betty, but no matter how guilty she felt, she couldn’t bring herself to tell Veronica that Archie had kissed her.

She’d almost told her a few days after it happened, but a twisted and torn sense of loyalty to both her best friends had held her back. As had the terror that she might lose Veronica over it...

“ _Obvi_ it’s about last night.” Veronica smoothed out the non-existent creases in her tights as she looked over Betty. “I’m sorry, B. I’m sure you have much more important things to worry about, but do you remember on Friday when I told you I thought Archie was acting weird?”

Betty’s brain struggled to keep up. “Um, I’m sorry V, I didn’t realise you _meant_ that. I thought that was just an excuse to talk to me away from Jellybean about… ah, things.” Betty’s heart skipped a beat; she had almost forgotten Toni was there, and had nearly said ‘about the baby’.

Toni looked between the other two girls, but didn’t ask either to elaborate. In Betty’s paranoid mind, she wondered if the looks Toni was giving her were just because she knew about the kiss with Archie, or if she had clued in to the pregnancy. But there was no way she could know _that_ … 

Veronica interrupted Betty’s train of thought. “It’s fine Betty, I know you’re under a lot of stress. But that party of his last night was just one more thing in a long list of uncharacteristic moves Archie has made the past few months. I called Kevin last night and he just kept telling me to talk to Archie about it. _Well!”_ Veronica stood up dramatically, and started pacing around the living room. “I _tried_ that, several times - but he just won’t talk to me about his feelings. Even though I keep encouraging him. He just _won’t_ open up. It’s like he’s afraid of what I’m going to think. And he won’t go to therapy either, so I don’t know what to do.” 

Toni exchanged a look with Betty, who noted the mild panic in the other girl’s eyes. They’d both heard the distress in Veronica’s voice.

Betty was the first to respond. “Maybe… he’s just not ready to talk about it.” Toni bit her lip.

“Not even with _me_ though?! What could be so bad that he can’t tell me about it.” 

Betty couldn’t find the words to respond. 

“I went to his house this morning, and I tried to coax it out of him. But he was so hungover he could barely keep his eyes open, and Reggie just kept making snide comments at him that were _no_ help. Reggie actually seemed pretty annoyed with Archie, now that I think about it…”

Betty felt a nervous pit starting to grow in her stomach.

“And I just _can’t_ believe he’d come to blows with _Jughead_ over _me_. There’s no way a meaningless and petty revenge kiss between me and his emo bestie that happened _two years ago_ could have started such a medieval demonstration of masculinity.” Veronica shook her head and started fiddling with the pearl necklace she occasionally wore. 

Betty briefly wondered if anyone else could pull off wearing pearls with active wear, or if that was a talent that was unique to Veronica Lodge.

“Cheryl and I had to excuse ourselves from the company of several high rolling clients last night to keep up with the social media fiasco that starred Archie and Jughead.” Veronica frowned as she sat down on Toni’s yoga mat, right next to her. “I had way too many people sending me messages telling me to ‘come get my man’. Now the reason I wanted to talk about it, Toni, is that I noticed you and Kevin are in the background of a lot of the videos. Kevin won’t answer any of my questions because he ‘doesn’t want to get in the middle of our relationship’ and I couldn’t find _any_ videos of how the boys started arguing about me in the first place.”

Toni looked particularly nervous. “Veronica, I kind of agree with Kevin… I think you need to confront Archie about it. Come down on him harder if he won’t tell you. Maybe give him an ultimatum…”

Veronica pursed her lips. “I don’t know, he could take that as me being manipulative, which he’s been _incredibly_ aware of lately. He keeps pointing out the hidden agenda of almost every character in every movie we’ve watched for the last few months - even the _good_ characters. _Especially_ in romance movies. And he’s been really cynical about every single authority figure in his life… sorry, I’m losing my train of thought.” Veronica gave Toni a serious expression. “What started Archie’s fight with Jughead?”

Toni was biting her lip again. “I dunno, V, they were both already wasted when I got there… you know how boys can get.”

Veronica crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you hiding something from me?” When Toni didn’t respond, Veronica’s features tightened. “Toni, we’re friends, aren’t we? Friends don’t hide things from each other, especially not information about their boyfriends or girlfriends.”

Toni opened her mouth to speak, but Betty cut her off. “V, if there is anything serious, maybe it’s something that _needs_ to come directly from Archie…”

Toni nodded. “Yeah…”

Veronica looked between both girls. “Oh my God, there _is_ something, and you’re _both_ hiding it from me!” Veronica stood up, anger starting to resonate from her. 

Betty could feel tears starting to form. “V…”

“No, Betty, what happened to not letting boys come between us again?!”

“This doesn’t have to come between us! Please just talk to Archie.” Betty had thought morning sickness was the worst feeling in the world, but she was wrong. This crestfallen guilt she felt at the look of betrayal on Veronica’s face was a dark emotion that threatened to consume her.

Pretending something never happened was a lot easier when nobody knew about it… 

“Talk to Archie. _Talk to Archie._ That’s all anyone wants to say to me? _Really?_ ” Veronica’s voice rose as her hands aggressively clutched her hips. “Why am I the only one being left out of the loop here when something is clearly happening to _my_ boyfriend?!” 

“Look, Veronica…” Toni started.

“What in God’s name is going on out here?” Polly asked in an incredulous whisper as she walked back into the room.

Cheryl followed her closely behind, her voice uncharacteristically low. “ _Ladies_ please, the humble walls of Thistlehouse may be strong but noise _does_ still carry. Our little angels need their beauty sleep.”

Betty and Toni both stood up off their mats as Veronica spoke, her voice lowering only _slightly_. “What’s going on is I don’t like being lied to, especially not by people who I _thought,_ only minutes ago, would have had my back!”

Polly pursed her lips and studied Betty’s face, trying to gauge the situation she’d just walked into. Cheryl, however, looked like she was only seconds away from figuring out the truth.

“V it’s not that simple…” started Betty.

“Well allow me to simplify it for you, B.” Veronica squared her shoulders. “Archie, my darling Beau, got into a fight with Jughead, his _best friend_ , and yet you, Toni, Kevin - and even _Reggie_ \- won’t tell me why!”

A lightbulb seemed to go off in Cheryl’s mind. She turned to Betty with a look of shock on her face. “Oh my God, was I right?!” 

“Babe.” Toni gave Cheryl a warning look.

“Right about _what_ Cher?” Veronica had turned and was now intently looking at Cheryl. Betty caught Cheryl’s eye and shook her head quickly before Veronica could notice. 

Cheryl turned her eyes back to Veronica. “Ahh… only about the fact that our dear Archiekins seems to be spiralling down a path of social destruction.” Betty thanked whoever was watching over them that Cheryl’s poker face was better than Toni’s.

Veronica sighed, and a mask of composure slid back onto her face. “I’m going, girls. I’ll see you all at school tomorrow.” She looked at Betty, and the cool facade slipped a little. “If you decide you want to start being _honest_ with your best friend, you know where to find me.” And with that she turned and flounced out of the room. They heard the front door close with more force than was necessary, and all four of the remaining girls flinched.

There was a moment of tense silence between the group, broken eventually by Toni.

“You know what, Betty? I don’t have a lot of respect for Archie. I think he’s an idiot who doesn’t think through the potential consequences of his actions. Honestly, I’m not surprised he hasn’t told her yet. I am a little shocked that _you_ haven’t, though.”

Betty felt her heart rate increase. “Toni…”

Toni put her hands up. “No, I don’t want to hear your excuses. As her best friend, _you_ should have told her when it happened. The only reason _I_ didn’t say anything is because last night _Jughead_ begged me not to. And even though I really like Veronica, I’m not going to do something that will jeopardise my friendship with _any_ of the Serpents, especially not ones that have consistently shown loyalty to me.”

Cheryl cut in before Betty could respond, her facial features settling into a sympathetic mix of shock and understanding. “Did Archie act on his misguided feelings for you, cousin?”

“Feelings?! Whoa, Betty, what did I miss?” Polly asked, her eyebrows raising so high they almost retreated into her hairline.

Betty felt all of the guilt she’d been holding in from the past month raise its ugly head and begin seeping out of her. She wiped her fists under her eyes and cleared away some of the moisture that was forming, but the tears kept spilling out. 

Polly was quick to move towards Betty and wrap her arms around her. “Betty, _please_ talk to me. Bottling up your emotions is really bad for you.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Especially right now.” 

Betty bit her lips together for a moment, trying to keep the dark feelings she felt at bay. For a moment, it worked. But then she shifted in Polly’s arms, and for the first time in years, Betty cried into her older sister’s shoulder.

… 

“Are you really going to just give me the silent treatment all day?” Archie asked Jughead. 

Jughead slid some empty beer bottles off of Archie’s kitchen counter and into the garbage bag he was holding. They made a satisfyingly high pitched _smash_ as they collided with each other. “It’s not the silent treatment. I’ve been talking this whole time.”

Archie shoved his mop into the bucket of hot water by the door. “You’re not talking. You’re _commenting._ ” He pulled the mop back out of the bucket and it landed with a wet noise on the floor.

“Whatever.” Jughead shrugged, and continued his clean up mission. 

“Andrews, you would not _believe_ what I found in your bathroom.” Reggie sauntered into the kitchen, a grin on his face as he held up a pair of red lace panties. Jughead and Archie both looked up at him as he walked in.

Jughead rolled his eyes. “Gross.” He muttered under his breath, but apparently not quietly enough.

Reggie snorted. “Your creepy virgin act won’t land with us anymore, Jones. We all know the perverted truth.” He tossed the panties at Jughead, who flinched away and watched them drop to the floor.

Archie groaned. “My mom is actually going to kill me.” Reggie laughed at the look on Archie’s face. Jughead restrained himself from ‘commenting’. 

“Eh, if parents don’t want their children taking advantage of an empty house, they shouldn’t go away on overnight trips.” Reggie stated seriously.

“Hey Red. I think the yard is as clean as it’s gonna get.” Munroe said as he opened the back door and entered the kitchen. “I’m gonna head to the gym, Chad needs to head out but there’s a few kids hanging out there and he doesn’t want to leave them alone.”

Archie leaned the mop against a chair at the breakfast bar. “Yeah, thanks so much for all your help Munroe.” They clapped their hands together.

Jughead rubbed his eyes as Munroe walked out of Archie’s house. “Have either of you seen my beanie.”

Reggie’s eyes scanned Jughead’s form. “Ha! I was wondering what looked different about you.” 

Archie went back to pushing the mop around the floor. “I’m pretty sure you threw it over the fence last night because you thought it was _tired_ and _needed to go home._ ” 

“Oh my God, you did! I almost forgot about that!” Reggie had to put his hand on Archie’s counter to hold himself up as he laughed. “Jones, you’re a wild card when you drink, I swear.”

Jughead groaned. “It’s been in my backyard this whole time?” 

Archie let out a single chuckle, then bit his lip to hold the rest in and stared determinedly at the mop. But Jughead could still see Archie’s mirth.

“Something funny, Andrews?” Jughead roughly knocked a bottle into the garbage bag.

Archie still looked like he was struggling not to laugh. “Nope.”

Jughead’s eyes narrowed, but he turned his face away from Archie and focused on his task. 

“So Jughead,” said Reggie. “Got any _tips_ you want to share this morning?”

Jughead turned to face Reggie. “Tips?” He asked, confused.

“Oh, you know.” Reggie wiggled his eyebrows. “Since you’re such an _expert_ lover, and all.”

“Will you _stop_ referencing that damn sex tape?!” Jughead dropped the garbage bag to the ground. It crashed loudly against the floorboards.

Reggie put his hands in the air. “Don’t shoot!” He laughed and playfully shoved Jughead’s shoulder. “I’m just giving you shit Jones. Besides, I wasn’t talking about the tape.”

Jughead’s mind went blank. “What?”

Reggie smirked. “I’m just saying, you were very… ahh… _instructive_ last night, wouldn’t you agree, Archie?” 

“Reggie. Shut up.” Archie sounded like he was battling between disgust and amusement.

_“Instructive?_ What are you talking about?” Jughead crossed his arms over his chest.

“You don’t remember explaining in great detail how to eat someone out _correctly_?” Reggie was outright grinning now.

Jughead froze. “I did not.”

Archie stood up straighter, and brushed his thumb over his eyebrow. “Look, you kind of did.”

“No… I didn’t…” Jughead was practically pleading with both of the other boys, but he had a sickening feeling that Reggie was telling the truth.

Reggie clapped Jughead on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’m sure Archie and Sweet Pea will only use your powers for the greater good.” Reggie glanced at the redhead. “After all, _somebody_ had to teach them.” 

If he wasn’t so mortified, Jughead might have wondered what Reggie meant by that last comment. “Betty’s going to _murder_ me.” Jughead’s face went bright red. He sat down on one of the bar stools and put his head in his hands. 

Reggie shrugged. “Don’t worry too much. Kevin thinks Betty will agree that Veronica won’t mind you giving Archie a little _push_ in the right direction.” Reggie turned to Archie. “That is, unless she rightfully dumps your ass, Andrews.” Reggie’s amusement disappeared as he shook his head and took over Jughead’s garbage collection. 

“I’m not in the mood for your shit, Reggie.” Archie started moving into the hallway, dragging his mop along the floor angrily.

“I wasn’t in the mood for your shit this morning either, Andrews, but here we are.” 

A new voice came from the front door. “Are you boys done with your dick measuring contest, or do I need to come back later?” 

Jughead lifted his head off his hands. FP Jones was now making his way into the house, dressed much more casually, a paper bag from Pop’s in his hand. FP scanned the living room and looked down the hall to the kitchen and seemed pleased.

“Doesn’t look half bad in here now, Red.” FP reached into the bag and brought out a burger, which he promptly tossed to Archie. He also handed one to Reggie, which was received with a cheer and a _“Thanks Mr Jones!”_

“Dad.” Jughead nodded as FP joined him in the kitchen. FP handed him a burger, then sat down next to him. 

FP then reached into his back pocket. “Have a guess at what I found outside this morning.”

Jughead smiled in relief as FP handed him his beanie.

….

When Jughead returned home, he unceremoniously flopped onto his bed and felt himself melting into the mattress. His body was aching and he felt so tired that he assumed he’d be asleep within seconds.

Alas, the universe had other plans. Who would’ve thought?

_I’m having a baby._ Jughead thought as he stared up at the white ceiling. _Well, Betty’s having a baby. She’s having my baby._ Our _baby. I’m going to be a father. We’re going to be someone’s parents…_

The thoughts spun webs of uncertainty in Jughead’s mind. Little spirals of confusion and worry that connected around the one fact of which he was sure. That there was a baby, and it was going to come whether he and Betty were ready or not. 

_What are we going to do?_ He wondered. 

Jughead tried closing his eyes and drifting off into a much needed nap, but there was just no turning off what was happening inside his head. With a huff, he got up and snatched his laptop off the desk. If he couldn’t figure out the answers on his own, then he was going to put his investigative skills to good use and find something to work with.

Settling into the window seat, Jughead opened his MacBook and stared at the search engine. He had about a thousand questions, but he couldn’t decide which was the most important one to ask, and typing ‘my girlfriend is pregnant please help me’ seemed a tad dramatic, even for him.

Instead he settled for a simple one. _What do pregnant women need?_

The first result that popped up said: “According to ACOG, you and your baby need these key nutrients for a healthy pregnancy:” and then listed several vitamins and something called ‘folic acid’ that didn’t sound too healthy to Jughead. _What even_ is _the ACOG?_ He wondered as he clicked on the page.

And then promptly fell down an internet rabbit hole. 

Apparently folic acid wasn’t just any vitamin, it was _the_ prenatal vitamin to take if you didn’t want the baby to have _neural tube defects_ \- which meant problems with the brain and spinal cord. He certainly didn’t want that to happen; he was sure Betty wouldn’t either. 

This ‘folic acid’ business was most important in the first 12 weeks, and Jughead pulled his phone out to check his calendar and figure out how many weeks it had been since Betty thought she’d gotten pregnant. It wasn’t too hard to remember the exact date, since it was also the date of his would-be death…

_Thirteen Weeks and Two Days._ Oh no… 

All hope was not lost - girls can also get folic acid naturally from foods like green vegetables and orange juice, which Jughead knew Betty consumed quite often. But it didn’t stop him from googling prenatal vitamins and where to get them. 

Forty-five minutes later, he had showered, felt refreshed and was determined that he wasn’t going to leave all of the pregnancy responsibility on Betty’s shoulders. Then he hit a dad-sized bump in the road.

“Where do you think you’re going, boy?” FP asked as Jughead made his way to the door. 

“Ahh… out?” Jughead responded.

FP walked closer to Jughead. “Did you forget you’re grounded?”

“No…” He had, actually. “But dad, I _need_ to do something.”

“No, you don’t. And you’re grounded until you graduate, so get used to it.” FP said firmly. Jughead resisted the urge to remark: _Five days, Dad? Really?_ FP waved his hands towards the staircase. “Now go study or something.”

Jughead considered going upstairs and sneaking out the bedroom window again, when an angel disguised in flannel and denim appeared. “Wait, Jug’s right, Dad.” Jellybean materialised at the bottom of the staircase. “He does need to go out, because he’s coming with me to visit Charles!” 

FP folded his arms and leaned against the wall. “Why the sudden urgency to see your brother?” He looked between the siblings.

Jellybean had a melancholic look on her face. Jughead could see right through it, but FP’s expression instantly softened. “Me, Charles and Jughead haven’t had much sibling bonding time together since Charles moved here. Usually you or Alice or Betty are with us, which is great but with Jughead going to college soon…” her lips actually quivered. “Well, who _knows_ when we’ll get the chance to hang out just the three of us?”

FP was clearly affected by Jellybean’s emotional manipulation, and Jughead wondered what she was up to. “Alright Jellybelly, you two can go. See if Charles wants to come over for dinner tonight. I wouldn’t mind seeing more of that boy around the house.” FP made his way back into the kitchen. “But nowhere else, Jughead. You’re still grounded.”

Jellybean winked at Jughead as she followed him outside. “So what are we _really_ doing?” She asked once they’d gotten to his motorbike.

Jughead handed her a helmet. “I have some baby related things I wanted to take care of.” 

Jellybean’s face lit up. “Really? Ooh, so I’m on official Aunty duties right now? That’s epic!” She put on her Toledo Serpent jacket that stayed hanging next to Betty’s in the garage. “Does this mean you and Betty are definitely keeping the baby?”

“Jeez, JB. Relax.” Jughead said, but he smiled at her enthusiasm. “Yes. We are keeping the baby. But please keep that to yourself for now. We haven’t told Dad and Alice yet.”

Jellybean actually squealed. “Yay! I’m so, _so_ happy for you both.”

_At least someone is,_ thought Jughead darkly. “By the way, JB, about last night…” 

“I’m sorry for snitching on you.” Jellybean said before he could finish. “I just got scared when I saw you online that you were fighting with Archie… and then I realised you were drunk…” she sounded genuinely apologetic.

“Don’t worry, I’m really sorry for scaring you.” He pulled his sister in for a hug. “I’m not going to end up like Dad did, okay? I promise.”

She nodded against his chest. “I know you won’t… I just…”

“It’s okay.” He rubbed comforting circles into her back. 

They stayed like that for a few more seconds before Jellybean pulled away. “Come on, let’s go before we start turning into actual saps.” She said, playfully shoving Jughead’s arm. 

Jughead couldn’t help but laugh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next -  
> Betty and Jughead go to their first prenatal appointment, Charles gets some bad news about Jughead’s case, and Veronica and Archie’s hearts will break a bit more.
> 
> And Riverdale receives its next round of tapes from our mysterious voyeur, The Watcher.


	11. Unplanned Parenthood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Watcher delivers their next surveillance tape.
> 
> Jughead bonds with his siblings. The RH girls disagree on the right way to talk to Veronica, and Charles and Archie get some startling news of their own... 
> 
> The bullying at school kicks up a notch, and Jughead is tipped over his emotional edge.
> 
> Later, Betty and Jughead go to their first prenatal appointment, and everything starts to feel a bit more ‘real’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry Varchie stans, we’ll need to wait another chapter to deal with their angst. But there’s lots and lots of Bughead in this chapter, so I hope that makes up for it.

“What are we even looking for?” Jellybean asked as she followed Jughead through the pharmacy. A cheeky glint glowed in her eyes as she reached down to the shelf beside him. “It’s a bit late for this, isn’t it?”

Jughead turned to her and realised she had picked up a box of condoms. “Put that down, JB.” He pulled the box away from her and she started giggling. 

“For your information, Dad tried to give me the talk yesterday. I’ve never seen him look so red.” She grinned as her laughter died down. “I told him Mom beat him to it, and he seemed pretty relieved that he didn’t have to go into too much detail. But do you know how hard it was to not tell him he was worried about the wrong kid? You’re welcome, by the way.”

Jughead groaned. “Why is Dad even talking to you about that? You’re thirteen.”

“Hey, _you_ might not have hit puberty yet but the rest of the world is still growing up - _hey!_ ” Jellybean dodged Jughead’s attempt to mess up her hair. “I think he was mainly just checking on me, making sure I understood what was happening with you and, you know, all the sex tape stuff. Plus, that social worker asked me a lot of weird questions so he wanted to make sure I knew what she was talking about, or wasn’t traumatised by it all I guess.” She shrugged and started looking at a rack of hand creams. “He really drilled into me that I have to make sure I don’t send sexy pictures of myself to anyone, even if they promise not to show their friends. Gave me the ‘real men respect the word _no’_ speech.” She rolled her eyes. “I just hope I never have to hear dad say “sexy” again with my own two ears. But at least he’s not preaching abstinence like Nanna does.”

Jughead felt that weird sense of pride for his dad again; it made him smile to know Jellybean was getting _this_ version of his dad during the critical teen years. “Well, I know Betty’s dad used to preach abstinence, and both his daughters have gotten pregnant as teenagers, so…” 

Jellybean looked at him incredulously. “Didn’t Betty’s dad also, like, _murder_ people?”

“Yeah… maybe he’s not the best parenting example.”

“Might make a good advertisement though!” She picked up another box of condoms, then said in a deep voice: “ _Always_ use birth control or you _will_ become a serial killer.”

“ _JB!”_

“Come on Jug, you know that was funny.” She grinned and discarded the box as Jughead shook his head; though he couldn’t help the smirk that escaped. 

They moved into the next aisle, which had a few different types of pregnancy tests on display. _Surely the prenatal vitamins must be close, now._ “Just don’t say anything like that around Betty and Alice, they don’t _quite_ share our predisposition to dark comedy.”

“Your wish? My command.” 

“Found them!” Jughead said gleefully. He picked up a big pill container and started to read the ingredients listed on the back.

“What are they?” She asked as she stood on her tip-toes and peered over Jughead’s shoulder.

Jughead scanned the labels of two other containers. “They’re these vitamins pregnant girls are meant to take to keep the baby healthy and prevent birth defects. Have you ever heard of folic acid?”

“Ew, no. That sounds like a weaponized disease. Or the secret power of a supervillain.” Jellybean scrunched up her nose. “Ugh, I can just imagine The Joker spewing folic acid at people from right out of his stitched up mouth. Which would _completely_ ruin the integrity of the entire Batman franchise. _Yikes._ ” 

“Well it’s a very important thing that Betty needs.” Jughead couldn’t help but laugh at the look on Jellybean’s face. “She’s been really sick lately, too, so I dunno, maybe this will help?” He picked up the first pill container - it was bright pink and had the silhouette of a pregnant woman on the front. “This brand has most of the other vitamins I saw listed on all the pregnancy websites. I think we’re good to go.” 

“Alright, cool. What do you want to do now? We’ve only been gone for, like, fifteen minutes, and Dad might find it weird if we’re back this fast.” Jellybean followed Jughead to the bored looking cashier. 

“Well, we could _actually_ go visit Charles.” Jughead suggested.

….

Betty leaned against Polly as they sat together on one of Thistlehouse’s surprisingly comfortable armchairs. Polly stroked her hair, and Betty tried to ignore the way her eyes were stinging. 

Cheryl Blossom, ever the avenging angel, thought Veronica needed to know _immediately_ that Archie’s lips had strayed away from hers. It took a fair bit of convincing from Toni to talk her out of calling Veronica back into the house. 

Cheryl was still angry, but had stayed quiet as Betty shared her reasoning behind keeping this from Veronica.

“I just didn’t know what to do. Pretending to date Archie was _my_ idea, so any feelings he might have now were brought on by _my_ actions.” Betty closed her eyes briefly. “Archie’s not like me, he isn’t good at playing pretend, he just acts the way he feels he should. He can’t shut off his emotions to hold up a charade. He _feels_ every action he takes. So pretending to be with me… it wasn’t fake for him. And I should have _known_ that would happen, I’ve known Archie since we were four! But I was only thinking about Jughead the whole time; I didn’t even _consider_ how something like that would affect Archie.” She opened her eyes and stared down at the ornate rug on the floor. “How is Veronica ever going to forgive me?”

“You’re being too hard on yourself, Betty.” Polly wrapped her arms tighter around her sister. “This isn’t your fault. Besides, there’s no right way to tell your best friend that her boyfriend played you a depressing song that made you question his mental health and then got weirdly emotional and kissed you.”

“ _Strongly_ disagree, cousin.” Cheryl said stubbornly. Toni shot her a warning look. “But I must admit, this makes Betty’s stress-induced affliction make all the more sense.” 

Betty was momentarily tempted to tell Cheryl she was pregnant just to get her to lay off on the bulimia thing.

“I think you were right that Archie needs to tell Veronica how he feels.” Polly said softly. “If you told her then he wouldn’t have had the chance to explain himself, and Veronica deserves the truth straight from the source. Believe me when I say, it’s never a good idea to interfere with another person’s relationship, no matter how justified it may seem.”

“That’s all well and good, Pollykins, but it’s been over a month since he kissed Betty and Archie still hasn’t said anything. How long exactly are we supposed to keep this a secret? Ronnie’s my Maple Partner, I can’t just _not_ tell her something like this.” Cheryl looked forlorn. “We’re going to New York in two weeks to look for an apartment for college! Am I supposed to act like I just don’t know her beau is longing for her bestie?”

“I don’t think it’s like that, babe. Archie fucked up, no question, but it seems to have been because of some deep rooted psychological issues.” Toni put her arm on Cheryl’s shoulders. “We need to stay the hell out of this.”

…. 

Charles’ apartment was only three buildings down from the Pembrooke, though the clean brick exterior and modestly crafted rooms of the whimsically named River Village couldn’t hold a candle to the Pembrooke’s grandeur.

Charles had moved out of the room he was staying in at the Five Seasons just after the New Year. It seemed like the FBI were going to be in Riverdale for the foreseeable future, and he had once told Jughead it was a lot more cost effective, much less of a waste of resources to stay in an actual apartment.

The River Village was also a lot closer to Elm Street, and Jughead suspected that may have had something to do with Charles’ desire to move out of Riverdale’s only luxury hotel.

Charles sounded surprised but pleased to hear his younger siblings’ voices through the intercom. By the time Jellybean and Jughead got up the elevator and to his door, Charles was his usual cool and collected self, inviting them inside and double checking the door was locked once they’d walked further into the apartment.

“What trouble are you two in today?” Charles joked - a rarity for him, so Jughead wondered if there was a dash of legitimate concern in his brother’s question. ‘Trouble’ wouldn’t be a far-fetched assumption to make when Jughead was involved.

Jellybean grinned. “Jughead’s _grounded._ ” She stated with delight.

Charles raised his eyebrows. “FP wasn’t impressed by your antics last night, I take it?”

Jughead shrugged and sat down on the black leather couch. “Not even _slightly_ impressed.” Charles sat down next to him, the side of his mouth perking up in amusement. “Um, sorry about… last night, Chuck. I’ll be honest, I don’t remember much but I am fairly certain I would have been annoying to deal with. So, thanks.” 

Charles' face changed into the studious expression he often wore, one that reminded him of Betty’s face when solving a difficult math problem. “You weren’t _that_ bad. Just… hyped up and extremely talkative. Don’t worry, I’ve done a lot worse while under the influence.”

Jughead groaned. “I don’t know why everyone likes partying so much. Sure drinking might feel good, assuming you even remember it the next day. But hangovers? Blackouts? Reviewing your actions through social media? _Not recommended._ ”

Charles snickered. Jellybean excused herself to go to the bathroom, and Charles glanced over at her as she made her way down the hallway. “There’s probably a _reason_ the legal drinking age is twenty-one, Jug.” He said, eyes still focused on his sister. 

Jughead rolled his eyes. “If it’s because the powers-that-be hope college-aged kids are less likely to go out of their minds over alcohol than high schoolers, I think every sorority movie loses about 60% of its credibility.”

Charles laughed and shook his head. “Never a dull moment in your mind, is there?” And then, as though he was trying to catch Jughead off guard, he asked: “Is Betty pregnant?” 

Jughead’s breath caught in his throat. “Haaa… you sure know how to make a man lose his train of thought.”

Charles had changed the topic so fast Jughead thought he might have whiplash. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to drop that on you, I just didn’t want to ask in front of JB and the curiosity has been killing me.”

“Don’t worry about JB, she knows already.” Jughead blanched when he realised what he’d said. “That is, I mean…” Jughead sighed and leaned back into the couch. “What makes you ask?”

“Well, apart from you heavily hinting at it while we were walking back to your house last night?” Charles smirked, then said in a shockingly accurate rendition of Jughead’s voice: “ _‘Hey Chuck, I hope you’re ready to refine your uncle-ing skills. Not that there’s any babies on the way or anything. Just preparing you for the future, bro!’_ ” Charles shook his head. _“_ You have the subtlety of a _toddler_ when you drink.”

“Ahh…”

Charles’ eyes were piercing in a way that resembled his mother. “It’s not just that. Betty’s entire demeanour has been off for a few weeks now. Also, you know I spent a lot of my youth at the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, right? Plenty of pregnant teenagers came to and from that place over the years. I know the signs.”

Jughead stared straight ahead, unsure of how to proceed.

“I’m not going to say anything to FP, if you’re worried about that. Any of your casual references to ‘potential’ fatherhood went right over his head last night.” Charles said, and Jughead turned his head to face him. “Although, you might want to watch what you say around Alice; she’s watching Betty like a hawk at the moment.”

“Yeah, she does that…” Jughead managed to get out.

Charles shrugged. “She’s just worried. Betty’s lost a bit of weight recently, and Alice thinks she’s been really emotional and not eating enough… so far she’s put it down to the exam stress and worrying about you, but…”

“Do Alice and FP spend their free time gossiping about us to you or something?” Despite his nerves, Jughead couldn’t hold in the snicker that came out.

“I’m not sure if I’d call it gossiping, but they do tell me a lot about you two. Don’t worry, they talk to me about Polly and Jellybean as well.” Charles chuckled. “You four are basically the only things that keep them waking up in the morning. You guys give them a purpose in life.”

A somber feeling tried to encapsulate Jughead’s heart. “You know… they’re both pretty obsessed with you too. Dad specifically wouldn’t let me leave the house unless it was to visit you, and told us to invite you over for dinner tonight, actually. I know this whole ‘blended family’ thing is pretty new, but it’s not just their other kids that they care about.” 

Charles gave Jughead a half smile. “I said _basically_ the only thing, not _the_ only thing.” Charles shifted his body towards Jughead’s and gave his brother his full attention, apparently deciding it didn’t matter if JB overheard his conversation. “I know they’re both trying to make up for lost time with me, but they aren’t going to have the same relationship with me as they do with you and the girls. I’m their son, but they didn’t raise me. I’m already a grown man, Jug, with a successful career. They don’t spend their time worrying about what I’m doing; they _know_ I’m fine.”

Jughead couldn’t help but admire his brother. “You’ve got a very mature perspective on this, you know.” 

“I’d sure hope so, Jug. Being that I’m twenty eight and all.” They both let out breathy laughs. “We can talk more about Alice and FP if you want - believe me, there’s _plenty_ I could tell you about what they were like at your age, but then I’d be enabling you to avoid talking about the more pressing issues.” Charles raised his eyebrows and gave Jughead a pointed look.

Jughead sighed and leaned back. “Yeah… Betty is pregnant.” Jughead swallowed to curb the panic that was fast creeping into his chest. “We don’t _really_ know what we’re going to do. Not just about the baby, but about college, or the living situation… or telling our parents. It’s been… difficult to come to terms with. But we _are_ keeping the baby. And I’m going to look for a Summer job _pronto_ since we are woefully unprepared for the financial responsibility a baby brings with it. So, there’s that.”

Charles thought for a few moments as Jughead tried not to let the tension in the air affect him too much. “Well, considering it’s mandatory for non-local students to live on campus until junior year, having a baby as a freshman at Yale is essentially unheard of. I’d say it’s unlikely that anyone has ever done so successfully, but that could be because the institute hasn’t publicised it. I know postgrads have access to family apartments on campus, but I don’t think they have those options for undergrads… you’d probably have to talk to one of their student advisers… maybe your school counsellor would know something...”

It was Jughead’s turn to study his brother. “You seem to know a bit about Yale.” 

Charles shrugged. “My mentor from the FBI works there now. He’s a good friend of mine, he’s mentioned things over the years. And as much as Ivy League schools claim to be superior, a college is a college; there’s similarities across the board. Any of the girls who got pregnant while I was at Brooklyn College either dropped out or had abortions. I think one girl in senior year had a baby, but she was married and lived off campus with her husband, who was Gatsby rich and about fifteen years older than her.”

Jughead felt his mood drop slightly. “So, it’s basically impossible, is what you’re telling me.” He looked away and focused on the wooden coffee table in front of him.

“No, I didn’t say that.” Charles said, pausing until Jughead turned back to him. “It will probably be very hard for both of you. But, I’ve seen how both of you work; you’re both determined, you’re both _incredibly_ resilient, and you both fight with everything you have to accomplish your goals.” In a very un-Charles like move, he put a hand on Jughead’s shoulder. “If anyone can make it work, you two can. Don’t give up before you’ve even tried, Jug.” 

Jughead visibly relaxed a little. “Thanks for saying that… honestly, college isn’t the end-all for me. I _really_ want to go to Yale - but Betty? She _needs_ to, it’s what she’s been working towards for years; it’s her dream, and after all the crap she’s been through, I don’t want her to give up her dreams for anything.” Charles gave Jughead an encouraging smile at this. “Betty’s my family, and that family is expanding soon whether we’re ready or not… I just want to keep us together, whether that’s in Riverdale or New Haven - or Antarctica for that matter.” Something like a lightbulb went off in Jughead’s brain. “And speaking of keeping the family together… do you know much about why CPS barged into our house yesterday?”

Charles stiffened, though his expression remained neutral. “FP did bring that up last night. It was news to me, in case you’re wondering whether the FBI had anything to do with it.”

“I just don’t see why me and Betty having a sex tape would warrant a house call from social workers. How can they think I’m a danger to my little sister? Even if I _had_ made those videos, they feature me and a long-term girlfriend, not some victimised ‘child’ like that asshole agent you work with was trying to make Betty into.”

A deep-set frown formed on Charles’ face. “Jug… I don’t think you’re the reason CPS was checking on Jellybean…” 

Genuine confusion overtook Jughead’s mind. “What do you mean?”

Charles looked like he was contemplating how much information to give his brother, but before he could elaborate Jellybean emerged, a look of concern on her face. 

“Charles, why the hell do you have _eight_ different scented candles in your bathroom?”

…. 

Dinner that night was a relatively quiet affair. As quiet as it can be with six people who all have vastly different personalities. 

There were some laughs at Jughead’s expense (“Should we start calling you _Drunk_ head?” Alice had teased). FP nodded along as he tried to understand Jellybean’s apparent cyber-war with a girl from school (“She just _completely_ obliterated our village, Dad! I swear, she calls herself a Minecraft expert but I haven’t seen an iota of skill…”). Alice smiled as Betty updated them all about the twins and Polly (“She seems like she’s really bouncing back. And Mom, the twins said the cutest thing to her about you…”). Charles even told them about the weird new neighbour he had at the River Village (“He’s probably a lovely person, but nobody in their right mind plays the harp at six in the morning.” “Look who’s talking, candle boy.” Jellybean retaliated with a smirk).

As far as dinners went, it wasn’t the worst Jughead had experienced. In fact, it was probably one of his top five Cooper/Jones/Smith family moments.

That was, until… 

“Betty, honey, you’ve barely touched your food.” Alice observed, a worried look on her face.

Betty’s face held a mask of pure composure. “I just ate a lot while I was at Cheryl’s,” she remarked with indifference.

Alice wasn’t buying it. “You barely ate anything yesterday.”

Jughead tried to keep his expression neutral as he subtly placed his hand on Betty’s knee, remembering Charles’ warning about Alice. Betty placed her hand over his and squeezed. “Why are you keeping tabs on my daily intake?” She asked accusingly.

Alice pursed her lips. “I’m just trying to make sure you’re staying healthy. That’s my job as your mother.”

“I’m not an infant, Mom. I can take care of myself.”

_“Elizabeth—”_

“Ugh, look, I’m eating, see?” Betty picked up her fork and stabbed one of her baby carrots. She winced as she popped the orange vegetable into her mouth. 

Alice sat back in her dining chair. “You can’t live off of _one_ carrot, young lady. Your brain needs fuel to stay focused.”

Jughead felt Betty’s hand clench into a fist above his. “I eat plenty, Mom. I’m just nervous about the exams tomorrow. Which I still need to study for. I spent longer with Polly today than I should have and didn’t get to the library like I wanted to.” She stood up from her chair, and Jughead noticed she seemed a little pale. “Thanks for dinner. I’m going to go read over my notes for Chem.” 

She quickly made her way out of the dining room and up the stairs. Jughead looked on worriedly. “I might go study as well, guys. Can never be too prepared.” 

FP ran his thumb over his lip. “I’m glad you’re taking school seriously, Jughead.” He shared a look with Alice, who’s obvious concern for Betty’s wellbeing didn’t look like it was disappearing any time soon.

“Betty?” Jughead called out quietly as he got into their bedroom. He heard noises, but couldn’t see her anywhere. It took a moment to realise she was in the bathroom.

He shut the bedroom door behind him before he made his way to the bathroom. He found Betty throwing up and struggling to hold her hair back off her face. Jughead cursed and hurried to hold it back for her. 

“I’m fine, Jug.” She gasped out. “Just leave me—” but the rest of her sentence was cut off as she started gagging again. 

It took her another minute to stop throwing up the small amount of water she’d drank at dinner (the carrot had been the first to go). She leaned back against the wall and Jughead used the opportunity to grab a face cloth from the railing by the sink and run some cold water on it.

“Thanks.” Betty said as Jughead handed her the cloth. She left it against her face and enjoyed the cool feeling for a few moments before she placed it on her lap.

Jughead sat down next to her and put a hand on her leg. “You okay?”

Betty shook her head. “I haven’t been able to keep much down today. This ‘morning sickness’ thing is a complete sham, Jug.” 

Jughead rubbed her thigh. “Do you want some water?” 

“Maybe in a minute.” She sighed and leaned her head back against the wall. “I just wish this nausea would stop. It’s supposed to get better in the second trimester, but I swear I _barely_ threw up before last week. Looking back now I definitely felt nauseous, but I thought that was just the guilt eating away at me.”

Jughead felt a slight twinge of pain in his chest. “You could have talked to me about it, you know? I would have been there for you.” 

“I know. I know that now. I’m sorry…” Betty’s eyes became watery. “You’re so great, Juggie…”

Jughead moved his hand from her thigh to her shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay, alright? You don’t need to feel bad for that, not with me.”

Betty nodded and leaned forward into Jughead. He wrapped both arms around her and held her to his chest. It felt right, having her in his arms. Warm and loving in a way that filled him up.

“Tell me something.” She whispered.

“Like what?”

“Anything. Just…” she wiggled out of his embrace and leaned back against the wall again. “I need something else to focus on or I’ll throw up again.” She closed her eyes.

“Hmm…” Jughead thought for a moment. “I, ah, got you something today.” He felt his cheeks flush with mild embarrassment.

Betty’s eyes opened. Without moving her head she locked her eyes onto him. “You did?”

“Yeah… you don’t have to use them, I just started researching general pregnancy related things and sort of got lost in the terrifying masses of data…”

“Are you _blushing_?” Betty seemed equally surprised and amused.

Jughead ducked his head. “Look, I was mildly spiralling after you left earlier and may have made a thoroughly researched impulse buy.”

Betty was smirking now. “You’ve got me curious. What did you get?”

Jughead bit back the weird nerves he felt. “Come on, I’ll show you.”

He managed to coax Betty off the floor and led her back into the bedroom. Once he’d rummaged through his backpack and Betty was seated on the edge of their bed, he pulled out the ‘gift’ he bought for her.

“So, I hope I’m not overstepping any boundaries by buying this. I promise I won’t get offended if you don’t want them or something…” 

Betty held her hand out as Jughead handed her the container. She looked over it for a few seconds before she locked eyes with Jughead. “You bought me prenatal vitamins?” She asked, stunned.

Jughead moved his gaze to one of the posters above the bed frame. “Apparently they’re good for you… and they help keep the baby healthy — _ooft!”_ Jughead had the air knocked out of his lungs as Betty practically tackled him in her embrace. “Glad you like them.” He laughed. 

Betty somehow managed to keep the all-new happy tears at bay, holding onto Jughead as warmth and affection for her boyfriend enveloped her.

….

Betty woke up on Monday feeling overwhelmed. Emotionally and physically; probably spiritually and mentally as well, but her emotions and the aches in her body were the ones she noticed before she even opened her eyes.

Jughead stirred behind her before he snuggled closer. “Last week of high school.” He muttered, his voice groggy with sleep.

Betty felt a strange emotion that she couldn’t identify. It was a bizarre mix of fear and excited anticipation as she realised that after this week, she would no longer be a high school senior. She’d be a graduate. A real adult, not the practise adult she’d been since she turned eighteen but remained under her mother’s guardianship.

_Mother._

What a word.

A word that would soon describe _her._ Mother. Parent. Mom… legal guardian to an actual human being. She’d seen enough movies, read enough books, and heard enough complaints from Polly and her mother that she knew the process of giving birth was going to be painful - though she was trying very hard not to panic about it. That was a problem for nine-months pregnant Betty to deal with, not almost-high school graduate Betty.

Almost-high school graduate Betty knew that a lot of girls threw up during their pregnancies. It even seemed to be a plot device used by most movies involving pregnancy.

But oh God. _The vomiting._

It felt like it would never end. Days ago Betty had lost count of how many times she’d been hunched over the toilet. One time at school she hadn’t quite made it there, instead throwing up in one of the school bathroom’s garbage cans.

And though her mother may not have realised _why_ Betty wasn’t eating as much - truthfully the smell of some food made her feel even more nauseous than she did on standard, though sometimes her body just decided it didn’t want or need the little food she _could_ stomach - it made her nervous that she’d even noticed something was off with her at all.

Polly had briefly tried to assure Betty that their mom wasn’t going to freak out as hard with Betty’s pregnancy as she did with Polly’s, but Betty didn’t want to take the chance unless she knew, without a doubt, that this baby was going to happen. And it seemed like with every day that passed, Betty became more and more comfortable with her decision. Jughead seemed to be embracing fatherhood in his own way, though at times Betty thought he resembled a deer in the headlights. 

Not to say she didn’t still have some doubts and anxiety about bringing a baby into the world. But she had Jughead with her, supporting her, actively trying to be involved with the pregnancy. Picturing him trying to search the aisles of Walgreens for prenatal vitamins brought a smile to her face. 

It was the effort he was putting in that made her feel loved and happy in a way she’d almost forgotten she could feel. He was somebody that she knew she could rely on to take care of her - even though they both knew she could take care of herself. Maybe things really would be okay as long as they had each other.

And really, compared to serial killers, how bad could a baby be?

Betty kept repeating this in her head over breakfast, where she tried to force down a piece of toast at her mother’s insistence. She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she didn’t notice the anxious look on Alice’s face.

Of course, it was hard to notice anything at all when FP left for the station, then immediately walked back inside, a video tape in his hand.

Jughead looked sick at the sight of it. Though when FP forced it into the TV video player, it was just another recording of their house. Disturbingly close to the front door, almost as if it had been recorded on their property… 

Much later, as she wandered through the school grounds, Betty wondered if it was a sin to feel so relieved that it was ‘only’ a voyeuristic house recording…

“Juniper was _crazy_ last night.” Toni said mournfully. She landed ungracefully on the couch next to Betty. Betty dropped the chemistry textbook she’d been reading onto the table in front of them. That morning she’d finished her final literature exam, and her brain was more than happy to remove any lingering thoughts she still had about “Call of the Wild” and replace them with last minute chemistry notes.

The senior recreation lounge was relatively empty considering it was the lunch break. Only two guys who Betty barely recognised were inside, battling with the foosball table, and Ethel Muggs, who was quietly seated at one of the tables - book in hand and eyes downcast.

Betty focused on Toni. “Was she giving you guys hell?” 

“Ugh, you have _no_ idea the theatrics that little girl can perform.” Toni pulled a bag of candy out of her backpack and began munching away at a gummy worm. “Sometimes Cheryl says Juni’s _full_ Polly Cooper, all calm and friendly, not an ounce of Blossom in her. But I can see something brewing in those sassy little eyes and I just _know_ she’s a tiny Cheryl Blossom. The _lungs_ on that kid when she doesn’t get her way, I swear…”

Betty laughed nervously. “I got a small taste of it the other night when she wanted Cheryl to put her to bed.” Betty loved both twins and enjoyed spending time with them. They had their temperamental moments, sure, but Betty always found them to be sweet little toddlers.

Apparently Toni had other opinions.

“This kid, I swear to God Betty I’ve never seen anything like it, managed to run around the _entire_ house because she didn’t want to put her pyjamas on. We’d almost have her but she’d just keep getting out of our clutches - how can a two year old run so fast? - and then she _hid_ for forty five minutes. Polly and Cheryl were both freaking out. Do you want to know where we found her? The attic. The _attic,_ Betty. I don’t even know how she got up there.”

Betty couldn’t hold in her smile. “Like mother, like daughter, then. The attic was always Polly’s hiding spot when she was angry at our mom.”

“Hmm so I was wrong, it’s the _Cooper_ genes that hold the craziness, not the Blossom ones?” Toni grinned widely.

Knowing Toni hadn’t meant anything malicious by her statement, Betty tried to squash the anxiety that welled up any time the Cooper/Blossom darkness was referenced. “Well, technically Cooper genes and Blossom genes are one and the same.” She laughed at the expression on Toni’s face. “Surely the twins have their good moments… right?” 

Toni rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, they’re cute and funny and adorably helpless, I would die for them and all that jazz.” She waved a hand dismissively. “Your sister has now risen to number three in the ‘top five people I appreciate’ list - I like her more than Jughead now, but don’t tell him I said that. Her being back in Riverdale could not have come at a better time. I really do love the twins, and they have taught me a lot about life, but I am _so_ not in a rush to have my own kids. Hopefully Cheryl wants to wait a _long_ time… though I’m perfectly fine with being the cool Aunt forever.” 

Betty resisted the urge to bite her fingernails. “I wouldn’t mind _just_ being the cool Aunt for a while longer either… I think you and Cheryl are far better prepared for parenthood than anyone else in our grade, to be honest.” _Including me,_ Betty thought wistfully.

A few more students shuffled inside the senior lounge, including Sweet Pea who took a seat in the armchair opposite them. Toni looked at Betty like she had more to say, her brown eyes scanning the blonde girl, but she changed the subject to ask Sweet Pea about vague plans to visit the quarry on the South Side the next weekend.

“Jughead Jones to the principal's office. _Immediately._ ” Mr Honey’s staticky voice cut through the chatter that was occurring among the students.

“Honey sounds pissed.” Sweet Pea noted, his eyes on the intercom speaker.

Betty wondered what trouble her boyfriend could be in this time.

….

_At almost the same moment, not too far away, my dear half-brother Charles was recovering from the shock of hearing some unprecedented news._

“What do you _mean_ we’re off the case?!”

Charles directed the words at Agent Johnston and swallowed back the angry lump that threatened to engulf his voice. He had just stormed into the office Agent Johnston was using to review financial corruption cases in Riverdale.

Only fifteen minutes previously, Charles had decided to bite the metaphorical bullet and get Jughead’s laptop out of evidence. He’d been working on the case every spare moment for almost seven days and had hit a dead end. With Riverdale’s residents handing in the next round of video tapes from the voyeur (whom the FBI was now calling ‘The Watcher’), Charles wanted to gather as much intel about Jughead and Betty’s sex tape as he could before he got slammed with reviewing the hours of footage he was about to be handed.

There was officially nothing more he could do until Donna, Brett and Johnothan were interviewed, except search through some of the material on Jughead’s laptop and see if he could find any more clues as to who’d posted the videos. Not that he _wanted_ to watch his brother and sister have sex – in fact, the idea was so disturbing that he briefly considered searching the station janitor’s closet for bleach to chug down with his coffee. However, when he tried to access the laptop he discovered it had been moved into a restricted locker and was set to be transferred to the FBI station in New York City. And to Charles, that was unacceptable.

Johnston frowned, not meeting Charles’ eyes. “The Director and the child protective services team feel that you are too close to this case, Smith. And honestly, I agree. Elizabeth’s your sister, and Forsythe is your brother – you can’t possibly work on this case without prejudice.”

“You can’t seriously think I’d jeopardise an investigation because of my own _feelings_.” Charles felt an old urge, one he hadn’t felt in a while: the need to clench his fists so hard that his nails would draw blood.

Johnston still wouldn’t meet his eye, choosing instead to flick through a stack of paperwork as he spoke. “You have personal connections to both the victim _and_ our prime suspect. No matter what I think about your investigative skills I can’t deny that they have a point. You’re compromised, Smith. It’s better for the investigation if the NYC team takes over.” 

Charles crossed his arms. “How long have you known we’ve been taken off the case?”

“The Director called me into his office on Friday while you were at the middle school.”

“And you waited until _now_ to tell me?” Charles placed his hands on the desk in front of him and leaned towards Johnston. “We’re a team, Johnston. This seems like a pretty massive thing to keep from me for nearly four days.”

“You’re proving my point, Charles.” Johnston finally looked up. “If this were any other case, you wouldn’t be so hacked off that I waited until I saw you in person to tell you. But these are your _siblings_ we are investigating, so you can’t stay level-headed. It’s too personal for you.”

Charles wondered if Johnston would think it was _too personal_ if he put his fist through the man’s skull. “I’m going to get more coffee.” He stated, sounding a lot calmer than he felt and turned to make his way out the door.

…. 

“To what do I owe the pleasure, Mr Honey?” Jughead asked, his voice dripping with feigned politeness. 

Mr Honey ushered Jughead into his office, a look of utmost disdain on his face. “Sit.” He commanded, and with no other option, Jughead obeyed, taking a seat in front of his principal’s desk. 

Mr Honey’s menacing composure was slipping - he paced back and forth behind his desk, stopping only to lift a yellow folder off a shelf behind him.

“Mr Jones, I’m sure you know why I’ve called you here.”

Jughead was not in the mood for mind games. “Mr Honey, I honestly can’t think of any reason, but you seem pretty angry with me so how about we skip the reverse psychology and just get straight to the point?”

Mr Honey turned to face Jughead, a sour look on his face. “I can’t do anything to stop the adolescent shenanigans that occur outside of the school grounds…”

_Except calling the sheriff with bogus noise complaints when your students dare defy you by having a back-to-school party,_ Jughead wanted to retort, thinking of Cheryl Blossom’s first act of defiance for the school year.

“But when my students bring their _filth_ into _my_ school? Well…” Mr Honey threw the folder down on his desk. “ _That_ I can do something about.”

Jughead eyed the folder suspiciously. “What’s this meant to be?”

Mr Honey, if possible, looked even more furious. “Your teachers might put up with your sarcastic attitude and lack of respect for authority, but I won’t.” He whipped open the folder and pulled out an A4 sized photograph. “What exactly is this meant to be? A desperate cry for attention, or are a misguided attempt to flaunt your sexual prowess?”

  
  


“My sexual…” Jughead’s retort tapered off as he inspected the photo Mr Honey held up like a giant red flag. “How… how did you get that?” His eyes widened and he felt his brain starting to cave in.

Mr Honey put the photo in front of Jughead. “Don’t play dumb with me, Mr Jones. This is not a joke. Do you understand what the consequences could be if one of your classmates got a hold of this? There are some very creepy people in Riverdale, Jughead, who would love nothing more than to expose something like this.”

Jughead’s breathing came out in a gasp. “No…”

“No? You don’t understand? Honestly, I’m unsurprised. Maybe I _shouldn’t_ have excused you and Miss Cooper from attending the information session last Friday. Clearly, out of all the students at Riverdale High, you’re the ones who need it the most.”

Jughead could only half-understand the lecture coming out of Mr Honey’ pursed lips. His eyes were transfixed on the photo, his mind unable to focus on anything other than the image in front of him. Surely this couldn’t be real. It had to be a dream… 

There was Betty - her back to the camera, but unmistakably identified by the wavy golden locks of hair running down her back, clothed only in a black bra and a short lacy skirt, thighs deliciously exposed above her knee length stockings - standing in front of Jughead, who was seated on a wooden chair, hands behind his back and held together by what Jughead knew must be handcuffs, his lips twisted up in a smirk, lustful anticipation in his eyes. Red lipstick kiss marks trailed down his bare chest, stopping just above the waistline of his black pants… 

“ _Jughead._ Are you paying attention?”

Jughead’s head snapped up. “Sorry…”

“ _Sorry_ isn’t going to cut it this time Mr Jones. I’m going to have to call your father about this, and if it weren’t your final week of school I'd seriously consider suspending you all together. As it is, suspending you from Prom could still be an option…”

Jughead felt like the world was spinning. “This… this wasn’t _me,_ Mr Honey.”

“Oh, so you _didn’t_ tape this to my office door and almost give poor Ms Bell a heart attack when she found it?”

“No! I would _never_ do something like that.”

“I’m not going to tolerate this sort of lewd behaviour any longer, Jughead. That video your classmates were circulating was bad enough, but this is a _blatant_ act of defiance that I won’t stand for.” 

Jughead was struggling to remain calm. “Please, you need to believe me. I didn’t do this. I don’t even know where that photo could have come from.”

Mr Honey raised an eyebrow and looked sceptical. “I’m sure you understand why I find that hard to believe.”

“I know! I know this looks bad, but…” Jughead felt a slight sting of embarrassment over how flustered he sounded in the office of his megalomaniac of a principal. “Do you think I _want_ this to be spread around? I don’t even like talking about sex with my _friends,_ Mr Honey!”

Mr Honey crossed his arms. “I’m not as out of the loop as you may think, Mr Jones. It’s incredibly easy to access your friends’ social media profiles. I’ve witnessed enough of Mr Andrews' weekend house party to question the truth of that particular statement.”

Jughead silently cursed his drunk self for being such a loose-lipped sexual fiend. “I was… inebriated over the weekend. Anything you saw on instagram doesn’t reflect my usual behaviour, sir…” he could almost hear the blood rushing in his ears.

Mr Honey shook his head. “Drinking is no excuse for ‘loose canon’ behaviour.” He stated, sounding disturbingly like FP Jones. “Nor is it a way to explain why you’d consider bringing, _into school grounds,_ photos of whatever sordid affair you’re having with Miss Cooper…”

Jughead tried to think of something, _anything_ to say back to his principal. But as he tried to take in a breath, he realised he couldn’t. In fact, he couldn’t feel the air coming into his lungs at all, save for the slight gasps that were hot and rough at the back of his throat. Jughead tried to calm himself down, and take in a slow, deep breath. His chest felt tight, heavy, and his ears were ringing. He tried counting to five, tried focusing on the feel of the chair beneath him, but he couldn’t.

Nothing was working. He could only listen to the sound of his own heaving bursts of warm air as he struggled to fill his lungs. And that’s when, with a startling realisation, he knew what was happening.

A panic attack.

He wanted to tell Mr Honey to shut up, and leave him to get his breathing under control so he could chase off the awful feelings that had been building for almost a week. Panic attacks were like an old enemy - one he’d thought had been left behind when his childhood officially fell apart. It had been years now since the last one; he’d become a pro at fighting them off. He hadn’t even had one when Penny and the Ghoulies beat him up within an inch of his life, or when Kurtz had implied his sister was about to be killed. The closest he had come to a panic attack was when the Stonies had locked him in that coffin.

And despite all that, this photo was to be his psychological undoing. 

Jughead had no idea how long it had been since the panic overwhelmed him. He was vaguely aware of Mr Honey trying to get his attention, and then suddenly he was alone in the office. 

The thoughts were swirling together in his mind - people were watching him and Betty - they were _enjoying_ this. Someone wanted to make a statement, to let Jughead know that they had been watching them in their most intimate moments. 

Were they still watching? Could they see when he and Betty were messing around in their room late at night? Watching as they made love, as they embraced and moved together with desperate passion? Was someone watching him right now, their eyes hungrily taking in the distress that simply _watching_ him had caused?

Could there be hidden cameras in their bedroom, or in the Blue and Gold, or in Betty’s car, or in their kitchen, or in their _shower…_

“Breathe with me, Jughead.”

The voice wasn’t Mr Honey’s: it was much sweeter, much calmer, much less angry. He followed the voice’s instructions, breathing in time with the ordered rhythm. _In, hold, out. In, hold, out._ He could feel cool air in his lungs again, and his brain became less fuzzy.

Within a few minutes he was breathing like a human again, though his head ached and his eyes and chest stung in odd and painful ways. 

Jughead felt the world stop spinning. He wasn’t in the desk chair anymore; he was seated on the floor, and Miss Burble was kneeling in front of him. 

“You don’t need to stand up, we can just stay here on the floor if you like.” She said calmly. Non-judgmentally.

Jughead found that he was able to talk again. “I think… I think I’m fine enough to go now…”

Ms Burble raised her eyebrows. “In my experience, eighteen year old boys don’t have panic attacks when they’re _fine_.” 

Jughead let out a single, breathy laugh. “Nothing gets past you, does it?” He wiped a hand over his eyes. His face was slightly wet, and he felt mortified to know he may have _cried_ in front of Mr Honey.

“How about we continue this conversation in my office.” Ms Burble suggested. 

“I… I have a fifth period chemistry exam.” He said wearily. “I was going to study with Toni and Betty during lunch…”

Ms Burble looked at her watch. “You still have about a half hour until that class. And I’m sure the two students competing for first place will be fine without you. Let’s go.” She stood up, and the look on her face suggested she wasn’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer.

Jughead felt his entire body groan as he stood up to follow her.

…. 

“Betty, you better come see this.” Kevin said, sounding flustered as he entered the senior lounge. 

Betty looked up from her conversation with Toni about isotopes, and her stomach sank as she noted the apologetic look on Kevin’s face. “What happened?”

She stood up, as did Toni and Sweet Pea. “It’s probably quicker to just show you.” Kevin said and motioned for the trio to follow him.

They hurried through the hall, stopping at Betty’s locker. A couple of curious onlookers passed by and did a double-take as they saw the state of the locker. One girl saw Betty as she approached and snickered. 

“Get _out_ of here, Brittney.” Kevin said angrily. The girl moved out of the way fast, dragging her friend down the hall.

Betty’s eyes scanned the locker. “Wow, _so_ original. At least they mixed it up and used photos instead of a newspaper article.” 

_Serpent Slut_ was written across the locker in black ink. Littering the locker were dozens of small printed screen shots of the sex tape of Betty and Jughead that had made its way online the week before. Mini versions of the couple wrapped up in each other’s arms and between each other’s legs on Jughead’s bunk were taped all over the blue metal locker door.

“Someone has done this before?” Toni asked, sounding alarmed.

Betty nodded grimly. “Sophomore year when I publicly defended FP. I wonder if this was the same person.” Betty reached out and grabbed a photo; the tape made a noise in protest as she pulled it off. “Can you guys help me get rid of these before Jughead sees it?”

Toni halted Betty’s hand. “Wait.” She picked up the camera that hung around her neck and held it up to her eyes. “Evidence.” She stated, and the shutter of the camera filled Betty’s ears.

They both started to remove the pictures, and Kevin pushed a nearby trash can over to them. “Shouldn’t we burn these or something?” Sweet Pea asked, pointing to the papers Betty threw in the can.

“What’s the point? It’s out there forever, Sweet Pea. I doubt me getting rid of these photos is going to stop anyone from finding it if they really want to.” Betty swallowed down the nausea that had been present all day. At least if she _did_ throw up again she’d have an excuse… 

“How are we going to get the words off?” Toni mused. She rubbed the black ink with her fingers, frowning as she tried to smudge it to no avail. 

Betty placed her hands on her hips. Maybe she should have been more angry, but truthfully she just felt numb. “I have no idea. I doubt soap is going to work. And we only have fifteen minutes left until everyone starts walking through the hallway.” 

Kevin tried licking his thumb. “Damnit.” He muttered when _Serpent Slut_ stayed put. 

“Soap won’t work, but you think your saliva will?” Sweet Pea asked, an incredulous look on his face.

Kevin rolled his eyes. “You have a better idea?”

“Actually…” Sweet Pea walked down the hall and searched his own locker for a minute. When he returned he was holding a black marker. He pulled off the cap and started to quickly scribble over the words.

“ _What are you doing?”_ Toni asked, horrified. 

Sweet Pea shrugged. “What? I’m not making it _worse.”_ He said with determination.

Betty watched as he drew over the words, a feeling of warmth starting to bubble up inside her. “Thanks, Sweet Pea.”

“In unity there is strength, right Ponytail?” He stood back and admired the jet black snake he’d created in place of the awful writing. “Not my best work, but it’ll do.” 

Betty could only smile. “Let’s just get to class, we only have five more minutes until our last exam.” Her smile wavered. “I wonder what’s taking Jughead so long…”

…

Ms Burble had started the surprise session by asking Jughead where he got the bruise on his eye. He’d simply replied with ‘Archie’. It was a sign of how drained he was that Jughead didn’t try and cover up his feelings with references to literature.

After that statement, Ms Burble seemed more interested in letting Jughead steer the conversation. He felt lighter, telling her how betrayed he felt that Archie was trying to start something with Betty behind his back, and equally how guilty he felt for punching Archie in the first place. How much he valued Archie’s friendship despite the worrying changes he’d noticed in his best friend. 

His mind had been so focused on Betty and babies and sex tapes, that he didn’t realise how much he was bottling up about other aspects of his life.

“You haven’t asked me what set me off in Mr Honey’s office.” Jughead noted about ten minutes into his rant about Archie.

Ms Burble sipped her tea. “Do you _want_ to talk about it?” 

Jughead sighed, and leaned back on the couch. “Isn’t that why you dragged me in here on both of our lunch breaks?” 

“Truthfully, I asked you to join me in here for several reasons.” Ms Burble placed her mug on the coffee table between them. “Jughead, I hope you can forgive my use of anachronism, but I want you to think of your level of stress as... a bucket, slowly filling with water.”

Jughead tried not to roll his eyes. “A bucket.”

“I can already see the sceptic in you coming out. Bare with me for a moment.” She shuffled forward on her armchair. “This bucket, imagine that every stressful event fills it with more and more water. You can keep filling it up, but eventually the bucket just can’t hold any more water so it starts to overflow… do you see where I’m going with this?”

Jughead folded his arms across his chest. “I guess.”

“Luckily, there are things you can do to empty the bucket _before_ it overflows. Like writing, if that’s still something you enjoy. Or talking about it, maybe to a professional.” She gave him a pointed look.

“So you want me to talk to you about it all now, lest my _bucket,”_ Jughead couldn’t help making his fingers into quotation marks at the notion of imaginary buckets, “overflow again.”

“I would have liked you to come to me months ago, actually.” 

“Really.” 

“Indeed.” Something sad built up behind Ms Burble’s eyes. “Also, I believe I owe you an apology.”

Jughead sat up straighter. “And here I thought the award for ‘the most shocking statement of the day’ would go to Mr Honey for accusing me of attaching porn to his office door.”

Ms Burble smirked. “You came to me with a genuine issue, and I brushed you off as being obsessed with conspiracies.” Her smile wavered a little. “I spent weeks wondering whether I should have taken you more seriously, whether that may have stopped you from _dying.”_

Jughead could only stare at her in shock. “Don’t beat yourself up, Ms Burble. Nobody could have guessed how insane the literature department at Stonewall Prep could be.” 

“Even so, I‘m sorry.” Ms Burble said sincerely. Jughead told her it was fine and she continued. “I’m curious: did you receive _any_ professional counselling after you came back to Riverdale?”

It was Jughead’s turn to smirk. “You mean after I faked my death, right?”

Ms Burble lifted her mug back up to her lips and nodded. “I can’t imagine it was easy to readjust.” She took a sip of tea.

“Nice segway into the discussion of personal trauma.” Jughead gave her a wry smile. He thought about what she’d said for a moment. “Honestly… it wasn’t too bad. People didn’t ask me too many questions because Betty’s mom put out that documentary that explained most of the ordeal.” Jughead shook his head. “Living with _her_ has been interesting.” 

“In what ways?” Ms Burble’s eyes studied him.

“She’s just… different to how I remember her when I was a kid.” Jughead let out a laugh. “Honestly, she always sort of scared me. She has this gaze that kind of just pierces your soul - which is terrifying if you’re nine and Betty is covered in mud because you convinced her it would help her stay camouflaged during hide and seek…” 

Ms Burble’s lips twitched, but she didn’t interrupt.

“And she’s _really_ nice to my sister…” Jughead paused for a moment before continuing. “It was weird at first, to be honest. I wondered if it was just an act to impress my dad but she seems to actually care about JB, _and_ me. And my dad actually seems happy around her. It used to make me uncomfortable seeing them together, Dad and Alice I mean… she’s my girlfriend’s _mother,_ for crying out loud. But I dunno, I’m kind of used to it now, I guess? And me and Betty already share a sibling so it’s not like our parents dating could make our family any _weirder._ ”

Ms Burble nodded. “This sibling of yours came into your lives somewhat recently, I understand?” When Jughead nodded, she went on. “How do you feel sharing a brother has affected your relationship with Betty?”

Jughead crossed his arms. “Not nearly as much as the _other_ things descending on us like a biblical plague.”

“Do you feel like elaborating?” 

Jughead looked up at the clock on the wall. Only ten minutes until Chemistry, then as soon as that exam was over he and Betty would be out of there and making their way to Planned Parenthood… “Can I ask you something, hypothetically?”

“You can, _hypothetically._ ” Ms Burble replied. Jughead got the sense that she found him to be incredibly amusing.

“Let’s just say… theoretically… someone was about to start college and they found out something that might put a stop on that.” Jughead asked vaguely.

Ms Burble raised her eyebrows. “I might need more specifics on this _theoretical_ situation.”

Jughead had the urge to chew his lip. “I can’t tell you exactly… but it’s a big deal, a _really_ big deal, and my brother made a point yesterday that maybe school advisers or counsellors would have some insight.”

“If it’s related to your schooling at Riverdale High I can definitely help you out there, or assist you with applying for scholarships…”

“No, it's not that… but actually, scholarships could help. Stonewall would have given me a scholarship for Yale but it was conditional on me finishing the year with them. I have a decent amount of money in my bank account from working as a trainee Sheriff's deputy last year because Dad made me save most of it…” FP had actually been _extremely_ keen to give Jughead and Jellybean money whenever they needed it, his job as Sheriff affording him enough to keep both his kids from spending their own money. “But it’s nowhere near enough for what we need it for.” Jughead made a mental note to check on Betty’s financial situation.

“Does this ‘we’ include Betty, by any chance?”

Jughead tried to keep his expression neutral. “She’s _involved_ , yes.” It was tempting to come clean to Ms Burble about Betty’s pregnancy, but he wasn't about to do so without asking her permission first.

Ms Burbled looked at her watch. “You need to get to class, but I want you, _and_ Betty, to come and see me tomorrow. We can talk in more detail about this ‘hypothetical situation’ you’re in; at the very least we can make a plan for what you two can do to resolve it.”

“Well, Betty does like making plans, Ms B.” Jughead joked, already feeling ten times less drained than he did when he first came into her office. 

…

With the chemistry exam over, and their classmates distractedly discussing their answers on their way to the next class, Betty and Jughead used the opportunity to sneak away from their friends and into the school’s parking lot. Betty was apprehensive that one of their teachers would question where they were going, but Jughead couldn’t care less if they were caught sneaking out. It’s not like he wasn’t already in hot water with Mr Honey, anyway.

“Why was there a snake on your locker?” Jughead asked Betty as they got ready to climb on the back of his motorcycle.

Betty slid her leather Serpent jacket on over her striped t-shirt before flinging her backpack over her shoulders. “It’s a long story.” She opened and closed her hands, focusing her efforts on not digging her nails into her palms. “What did Mr Honey want?”

Jughead noted the action of her hands and huffed as he lifted his helmet off the seat. “Similarly, a long story. Want to swap mutual tales of tragedy over a milkshake later?”

Betty smiled. “Hmm, Planned Parenthood _and_ a romantic trip to the diner? You sure know how to woo a girl, Mr Jones.” 

Jughead grinned. “Clearly, or we wouldn’t be on our way to Planned Parenthood.”

Betty’s eyes widened and she laughed in spite of herself. “How do you _always_ know what to say to cheer me up?” She palmed his cheek, and he couldn’t help but lean into her hand. Her smile dimmed a little as she assessed the bike. “I probably shouldn’t be getting on this thing anymore… it’s not the safest mode of transport.” 

Jughead took one of her hands in his. “Hey, technically we don’t even know for sure you’re pregnant. So really, this might not be any different from all the other bike drives we’ve taken over the years. And if you are… well, at least we had one final ride?”

Betty smirked as she put her helmet on. “The baby’s not going to live inside me forever, I’m sure I’ll be able to ride around with you again one day. Preferably when he or she is grown up and off to college and can’t see me on it; because there’s _no_ way I’m letting my kid on a motorcycle and I’ll feel like a hypocrite if I don't practise what I preach.”

Jughead shook his head, amused by his girlfriend. “ _Or…_ we could only ride it around the North Side suburbs and attach one of those little side cars for the baby to sit in.”

“Not a chance.” 

Jughead laughed and placed his helmet on.

The ride to Centerville was uneventful. He felt the warmth of Betty pressed against him from behind to be like a comforting human blanket; her head rested against his back. 

They passed barely any cars on the highway, being that it was still technically work hours for most people, but several bikers drove by from the opposite direction. Jughead didn’t recognise the motorbikes they were on and they didn’t acknowledge him as they crossed paths, so he assumed they weren’t South Side Serpents.

Comforting, because none of them could let slip to his Dad that he and Betty had ditched class to go to Centerville. Unnerving, because that meant that they _could_ be Ghoulies… 

When Jughead parked outside of the Planned Parenthood building thirty minutes later and killed the engine, Betty still had her arms locked around him and her head between his shoulder blades. 

“You okay back there, Betts?” Jughead asked. When she didn’t answer, he grasped one of her thighs. “Betty?”

His hand on her thigh made her jolt back. Jughead twisted around to face her and watched as she lifted the helmet shield off her face and blinked rapidly. “When did we get here?” She asked with confusion in her voice.

“Just now… did you fall asleep?”

She pulled off the helmet and shook her hair out. “I must have dozed off. Wow, I didn't realise how tired I was.” 

Jughead felt a glimmer of concern for his girlfriend’s wellbeing as they got off the bike. _We’re seeing a doctor,_ he reminded himself. _They’ll be able to help her if there’s something wrong._

Betty draped her jacket over the bike handles then took Jughead’s hand to lead him inside. Neither of them were completely certain of what to expect from the place, but the receptionist seemed nice enough as Betty requested a walk-in appointment and was asked to fill out a couple of forms. While she spoke to the girl who appeared to be in her mid-twenties, Jughead glanced back at the waiting room.

There were seven other people waiting - for what, Jughead didn’t want to think about too hard. A preppy looking redhead girl whose leg was bouncing furiously sat next to a middle aged woman who looked like she wanted to be seated anywhere but next to her. A bored looking couple played with their phones. Across from them were a couple of teenagers who looked younger than Jughead and were obviously trying not to make eye contact with each other. Only one young man sat by himself, chewing on his thumbnail as he stared at a pamphlet on his lap.

Jughead vaguely heard the receptionist telling Betty it would be a ten minute wait, and gave her an estimate on how much an ultrasound would cost if she wanted one. Jughead winced and wondered how much they would cost at a regular doctor’s office, considering Planned Parenthood was aiming for affordability.

They sat together in relative silence, only broken when Jughead whispered a joke about one of the STI posters. Betty giggled slightly then went back to staring at the lines on the floor, clutching Jughead’s hand in hers. He rubbed circles on the back of her hand, hoping she’d find it comforting.

The doctor who called her in had a bored look in his eyes, and gave Betty a list of questions about her symptoms, most recent period and what type of pregnancy tests she’d used. He asked her several extremely personal questions that seemed irrelevant to Betty until he suggested she take an STI test; Betty declined, saying it was unnecessary. Jughead stayed unusually quiet beside her.

The doctor handed her a sterile cup and sent her into the bathroom; when she returned, blushing and trying to hide the contents from Jughead, he prepped her to do a blood test. Betty kept her eyes squeezed shut and clutched Jughead’s hand as the needle poked into her arm.

“I’ll be back shortly. This shouldn’t take too long. You two sit tight.” The doctor gave them a smile that didn’t reach his eyes and left with both samples, shutting the door behind him. 

Jughead exhaled. “I get the feeling that Dr Lennon doesn’t like his job.”

Betty smirked. “Yeah, well, I’m not a fan of _him._ He’s so… abrasive.” 

“I was going to say _aloof_.”

“Yes! And… hmm, I was going to say judgy but I think _direct_ might be a better fit.”

“Do you think he still thinks you have an STI?” Jughead smirked. “Your boyfriend is _clearly_ a gang member after all,” he pointed to the leather jacket he was wearing, “and they’re probably full of all kinds of sexual diseases _._ ” 

“Oh, _shush_ Jug.” Betty leaned her shoulder into him. They smiled at each other for a moment before they both turned to the door, waiting for the doctor to return.

The silence between them was almost tangible.

Betty started picking at a stray thread on the knee of her jeans. Jughead watched as she fiddled with it until he couldn’t take the tense quiet anymore. “This is awkward as hell, right?”

_“Yes.”_ Betty sighed. 

Jughead put his arm around her. He rubbed circles into the flesh of her arm with his thumb, hoping it would be somewhat soothing. “What was the blood test for anyway? Urine test? I get _that_. Makes perfect sense, I’ve seen enough Lifetime movies to understand.” Betty let out a laugh. “What did he need your blood for?”

“Someone wasn’t listening to me talking to the receptionist, I see. It’s to find out my HCG levels.”

“Oh _kay_ …” 

Betty smirked up at him. “HCG levels indicate how far along you are in your pregnancy. If I’m far enough along he won’t have to do an internal ultrasound to see the baby, we can just go straight to the abdominal one.”

“Internal?”

Betty just raised her eyebrows and her eyes flicked down then back up.

Jughead still seemed confused. “What are you - _oh!”_ He cringed. “That’s not ideal.”

Betty laughed at the horrified expression on his face. “Yeah, being a girl is _so_ much fun.” She was still giggling when the doctor returned. 

The nervous teen couple sat up straighter and waited for the doctor to talk. He was looking down at a clipboard as he walked back over to his seat. “Well, Miss Cooper. I believe you’re right, you are pregnant. We’ll have the results of your blood test in around two hours to confirm…”

Jughead couldn’t hear the rest of the doctor’s words. All he could focus on was Betty’s death-grip on his hand and the sinking feeling that was fast overtaking him.

….

Archie arrived at his boxing gym - which was soon to _officially_ be rebranded as the Andrews’ Community Centre - with a renewed sense of determination. 

He had screwed up his friendships with Betty and Jughead. He’d lost the respect of Reggie and Kevin, and who knows how many others. He’d angered his mother so much on the weekend that she was barely talking to him. And Veronica was just one conversation away from breaking up with him.

He knew if she did leave him, then he’d deserve it.

He swallowed back the negative feelings plaguing him and pushed the door open. He couldn’t let himself spiral about Veronica, not while he had people relying on him to keep himself together.

It had taken weeks after Jughead was revealed to be alive for the South Side kids to trust him again. Eddy, Malcom and Toby had actually apologised for not believing him, and had slowly convinced the others that they should still come to the community centre.

Good timing, too, because he’d heard rumours from some of the older teens that the South Side streets weren’t safe anymore. 

“Archie!” More than one voice called out to him as he rounded the corner and walked through the metal detectors. He peered down into the arena and saw that Eddy and Toby had taken out a boxing bag, though they were now looking up at him.

A couple of the guys who’d been part of Hiram’s illegal fight club were practising in the ring, and judging by the _dings_ he could hear from somewhere deeper inside the building, there must have been other kids on the premises playing arcade games.

Archie forced a smile as he descended the stairs, the determined feeling coming back to him. The only thing in his life that he hadn’t ruined completely was the community he was trying to build at El Royale, and he wasn’t going to screw that up.

“Hey guys, how’s it going?” Archie asked as he got closer.

Toby and Eddy shared a look. “We’re okay, are _you?_ ” Asked Eddy, giving Archie a once-over with his eyes.

Confusion overtook Archie. “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

The boys both looked uncomfortable. “At school today Malcom overheard some of the seniors talking about how your girlfriend cheated on you…” Eddy started.

Toby nodded. “With your best friend.”

“And so you guys got in a fight…” Eddy continued.

“Whoa, is that what everyone’s saying?” Archie felt like an even bigger asshole than he already was. “That’s not true, at all guys.”

“But then, what was with all those videos?” Eddy asked. “This girl in my class was at your party and she had a recording on her phone of you and that guy with the beanie—”

“Alright, yeah, I did get in a fight over the weekend.” Archie shut his eyes for a moment, then steeled himself for the explanation. “And there _are_ videos of it online. But, my girlfriend didn’t cheat on me.” _Not really,_ thought Archie, though the sight of her lips on Jughead’s still stung two years later. “What you saw was two drunk idiots using their fists to solve their issues, instead of just talking to each other. Me and Jughead are…” Archie struggled to find the right words for somewhere between ‘ready to kill each other’ and ‘may never be best friends again’. “Well, we both realised we can’t solve our problems by beating each other up, let’s just say that.” 

Eddy and Toby both looked at each other again.

Archie sighed and leaned against the punching bag. “Look, guys, I know I wasn’t exactly being a good role model, but please use whatever you saw as an example of what _not_ to do. You’re both almost sophomores, and I’m not going to pretend like I don’t know you’ll both probably start drinking at parties with your friends soon. I was your age not long ago,” Toby had a sheepish expression on his face that suggested maybe he already _had_ started drinking at parties, but he stayed silent. “But don’t drink too much, pace yourselves. And _especially_ don’t drink while you’re upset. It’s a _really_ bad idea. If you’re not convinced yet, just watch whatever videos of me you saw again and you’ll see what happens when teenage hormones, regret and alcohol mix together.” 

Both boys nodded. “It’s dangerous to drink with people you don’t know, too.” Eddy added. “Someone could roofie you.”

“Yes, exactly.” Archie agreed. Though he thought Eddy might not be the usual target of a drink roofie-ing, one could never be too careful. 

They lived in Riverdale, after all.

A loud _crash_ and a ghoulish yell from above snapped Archie’s attention away from the boys. He ran back up the staircase, taking them two at a time, and only paused to collect himself before he slowly inched the door open... 

... and realised a dumpster was on fire right in front of the community centre.

“Oh my God!” Eddy gasped. Archie spun around and saw that he’d been followed by both the kids and the ex-fight club members who were in the arena with him moments earlier.

“Ambrose, run and grab the fire extinguisher.” The older teen immediately ran back inside. “Dexter, Sheriff Jones’ personal phone number is in the yellow notebook on my desk. Tell him Archie said it _might_ be a gang-related emergency.” The other boy nodded and headed in after Ambrose.

“Gang related?” Toby asked, his eyes widening.

Dread settled in Archie’s chest as he eyed the young teens. “Boys, I need you to go back inside and get all the other kids together in the arena. I’ll be back down there as soon as this fire’s out.”

Eddy and Toby both hurried to obey Archie’s request, and they crossed paths with Ambrose as the panicked-looking teen ran back out with the fire extinguisher. He quickly handed it over to Archie then backed away from the dumpster.

As Archie sprayed the fire retardant from the heavy metal extinguisher, he tried to remain calm. The flames took longer to settle than he’d hoped, and his heart pumped furiously in his chest as he hurried to put the fire out. 

He tried not to think about the way the white powdery smoke clung to the front of the dumpster, partially covering up the skull and crossbones that had been spray painted over the green metal, or the fear that consumed him as he read the words that were painted beneath like a warning:

_The Dead Will Rise_

….

Betty leaned against Jughead, her head resting on his shoulder as they sat together on the same side of a booth in a run-down Centerville diner. The closeness was comforting, and their entwined hands kept them both grounded. 

As promised, Jughead bought Betty (and himself) a milkshake, as well as a large chilli fries that she’d hardly touched (luckily, Jughead ate enough for both of them). They’d finished updating each other with any events they may have forgotten to mention the past week, and now sat in companionable silence. 

As they sat, waiting for the doctor to call them back, Jughead’s mind wandered… 

_Three years ago, two teenagers intimately related to Betty sat together just like this - trapped in a situation similar to our own._

_These teens weren’t ready for parenthood. Not by a long shot. Both of their worlds were crumbling around them; danger looming in places that neither of them could fully comprehend._

_But they were willing to try; in fact, perhaps they were desperate to try. They were ready to escape the life they were familiar with and dive into a world of unknown._

_There wasn’t much that the two young lovers caught in a twist of fate wouldn’t do for each other._

_They probably would have done_ anything _to protect each other… even if it went against their morals…_

“What are you thinking about?” Betty asked in a whisper.

Jughead stopped staring out the diner’s window and looked down at her. “Jason Blossom.” He replied honestly.

Betty sat up straighter, let go of his hands and looked at him with confusion. “Why?”

Jughead stared at the almost-empty basket of fries. “I started thinking… I guess it just never made sense to me; why a guy who was so against his father’s drug trade that he was willing to drop everything and run away from it… would start _dealing_ drugs. But I think…” Jughead swallowed. “I think I understand it now. Now, more than ever, I _get_ it…”

Betty stroked a hand along his thigh. “Jug…” 

Jughead laced his fingers through Betty’s. “Neither he nor Polly had their parents’ support. He was desperate to provide for his girlfriend and unborn child, and run away to a safe place for them all…” 

Betty sighed. “Jug… I don’t want us to end up like Polly and Jason.” She chewed her lip for a moment before elaborating. “Trying to run away from their parents and start a new life… it left Polly’s life in shambles, and she’s _still_ trying to pick up the pieces. Jason is _dead,_ Jughead. And Polly joined a _cult_ because she couldn’t deal with the aftermath without him.”

Jughead thought about Betty’s words for a moment. “We’re not much older than them, Betty… they found out about Polly’s pregnancy at the end of their sophomore year of high school, right? Or just as the summer break started?” Betty nodded in confirmation. “I think about our sophomore and junior years a lot… and honestly, if we were their age, going through what we went through back then… I may have done the same thing.” Jughead shook his head. “No, I _would_ have tried to convince you to just get on my motorcycle with me and high tail it out of Riverdale, regardless of money or logistics or any of the other consequences of leaving might be.”

Betty didn’t respond immediately, and Jughead wondered if he’d upset her, until she spoke again. “I think I would have left with you.” She said, thinking back to her sophomore year, in particular a moment when Jughead had, in a diner no less, wistfully mused that he wanted the two of them to leave Riverdale on the back of his bike and not stop until they found somewhere safe with no gangs, no black hoods, and no danger.

The idea had been appealing back then; and honestly, if he’d pushed her even just a little bit more she wouldn’t have argued.

“That was a time of our lives when we were _both_ desperate, reaching our breaking points, and trying so hard to protect each other that we were doing it at the expense of hurting ourselves.” Jughead said softly. “If we’d added a baby to the mix back then…”

Betty leaned her head back on his shoulder. “I can’t imagine feeling _this_ way on top of everything else happening back then. We were _so_ young, Juggie. We still are, really.”

Jughead wrapped the arm Betty was leaning against around her waist. “What are we going to do, Betts?”

Betty didn’t have an answer for him. “I can’t get past all the things we _can’t_ do long enough to think about what we _can_ do.” Betty managed to hold back any of the tears that threatened to fall. “We can’t go to college, so we’re not going to be able to get degrees that will give us better job opportunities. We don’t even have stable enough jobs _now_ to raise a baby; we can’t afford to buy a house so we’re going to have to rent one if we don’t want to keep living at home… that’s just at the top of my head.”

Jughead’s chest hurt in an entirely emotional way. “I don’t want you to give up college. You’re meant for so many better things than what this dead-end town has to offer. You don’t have to be another teen-mom statistic. I can find a full time job and we can still move to New Haven…”

Betty’s face looked stricken. “Jug, _you’re_ made for better and brighter things in life. You deserve _so_ much more than what the universe has laid out for you so far, I don’t want you to believe that you’re any less deserving of going to one of the best universities in the countries… it’s just not fair, for you or me, that we’re so close to getting out of Riverdale and starting a new life for ourselves, a _better_ life for ourselves - and then the world throws one more curve ball at us.” A single tear spilled over Betty’s cheek. “I’m so, _so_ sorry.”

Jughead pulled her closer. “It’s not your _fault,_ Betty. This just… _happened_.” Jughead leaned his cheek on the top of Betty’s head. “I know you’re scared. _I’m_ scared too. It terrifies me to think we’re going to have a kid _well_ before we’re ready for it, and I know this isn’t part of either of our plans… but I’m here. I’m not running away. Whatever else happens, we have each other. We’re going to be okay.”

Betty hugged Jughead tighter.

The doctor called them to come back not long later, and within fifteen minutes Jughead and Betty were back in the same doctor’s room as they were before. Dr Lennon told Betty that her levels suggested she was between twelve and fifteen weeks along, and so an internal ultrasound wasn’t necessary - much to her (and Jughead’s) relief. 

As instructed, Betty laid back on the hospital stretcher, lifted her shirt and wiggled her jeans lower on her hips so the doctor could squirt blue jelly on her abdomen. He wheeled a computer over towards them and faced the screen away from Betty. 

Jughead watched the doctor’s look of bored indifference change to one of utmost concentration as he focused on the computer, pushing the occasional button and pressing the machine’s hand-held scanner into Betty’s gelled-up skin. 

“I would say the age is thirteen weeks and one day.” Dr Lennon said. Jughead wanted to correct him - he’d _counted_ the days, after all, but he was no expert and he figured the doctor may know better. “It’s not too late for an abortion at this stage.”

Betty shook her head. “That’s not an option we’re considering.” Jughead felt a weird shiver of relief at her words.

Dr Lennon didn’t make eye contact with either of them. “In that case, I’ll find you the names of some low-cost obstetricians in…” he looked down at his clipboard, his eyes searching the paper. “Riverdale. If you wish to continue the pregnancy you’ll need to get started with prenatal care and gain several more pounds. There are some pamphlets in the waiting room on local adoption agencies if you wish to research them.”

“Can we see the ultrasound?” Betty asked timidly. 

Dr Lennon looked up, and finally looked Betty in the eyes. His gaze darted back to the computer screen and he seemed to be waging an internal battle. Eventually he stood up so he could turn the ultrasound machine around. The wheels squeezed against the linoleum.

Jughead had no idea what he was supposed to be looking for as the doctor went back to moving the ultrasound device on Betty’s stomach, it was all just flashes of grey and black and white until the doctor lifted his free arm and pointed out where the baby’s head and body were. And then Jughead saw it.

A tiny little grey person.

“It’s… _moving._ ” Jughead’s eyes went wide as he watched. Betty reached out to grip his hand. 

Dr Lennon moved the hand-held device around, and the screen flashed with different images. “Do you see the rapidly flickering movement in the middle? That’s the heartbeat.”

Jughead was struck with awe. There was a heartbeat. The little grey blob inside Betty was _alive._ It was moving around in there, its arms lifting and its body wiggling. Jughead couldn’t tear his eyes away from the screen.

Betty’s voice sounded nervous. “Is it… is it _healthy?_ ”

Dr Lennon pursed his lips as he gazed at the screen. “Everything is progressing as expected for a foetus at this stage of development. It appears to be a perfectly viable pregnancy, Miss Cooper.” 

Jughead’s eyes locked with Betty’s; he could see his own feelings of wonder reflected in her eyes. There was some shock and awe present, as well, and neither could help the overwhelming feeling that encompassed the pair as they once again stared at the small image on the doctor’s screen. 

_There’s a real, actual human growing inside my girlfriend,_ Jughead thought. 

“That’s our _baby_ , Jug…” Betty said quietly, her eyes glued to the ultrasound screen. “We made that…”

Despite the fears, doubts, and anxieties he had - every negative feeling and thought he’d had over the past week - Jughead realised as he looked between both Betty and the image of his unborn child on the small computer screen that the only feeling he felt was one of warmth and joy. 

And in that moment the fact that he and Betty were having a baby became entirely and completely _real._ Jughead knew now, without a doubt in his mind, that whatever plans he and Betty made for the future, whatever decisions they’d come to, they would include the tiny person that was growing inside her. 

_Our baby._


	12. Ms Burble needs a pay rise - and other harsh truths of the day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty and Jughead talk to Ms Burble about their options, the bullying at Riverdale High continues to escalate, FP wonders who could be behind the some troubling events on the South Side, tension brews between Veronica and Archie, Toni and Jughead bond over their relationship woes, and Cheryl recruits an uneasy Kevin to get to the bottom of her suspicions about Betty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not really one to include excessive smut in my stories, but I’ve started writing a companion piece to this fanfic that is essentially the sex tape that Brett recorded. If mild smut is something you wish to see from Tapes of Us, please let me know in the comments :)

Chapter 12 - Ms Burble definitely needs a pay rise, and other harsh truths of the day

_I had my life turned upside down so many times that I almost don’t remember what ‘normal’ is anymore._

_So saying that having Betty’s pregnancy officially confirmed turned my life upside down would be completely false._

_My life was already upside down, backwards, sideways, inside out - it couldn’t_ get _any more confusing and messy._

_If anything, the world_ stopped _spinning as I processed the existence of my child on that computer screen._

_My world became still, as if every other rushed and crazy experience was leading to this one moment…_

“The Hoe Zone is hiring.” Betty stated blankly from her seat at her desk. The white wooden chair creaked ominously as she shifted closer to the laptop. 

Jughead rolled his eyes, but didn’t look up from the Word document on his own laptop. “Well, no one can deny you know how to work the pole - _ouch!”_ As he spoke, Betty had picked up an eraser and threw it at him from across their bedroom. It landed right between his eyes, the rubber edges almost getting him in the retinas. 

“My bad, I was aiming for your foot.” She said, not looking the least bit apologetic.

“That’s some crap aim, Betts.” Jughead rubbed the sore spot above his nose. 

Betty lifted her MacBook and moved to join him at the window seat - his favourite spot in their room (aside from the bed, of course). “I’m sorry, for real.” She kissed his cheek and tilted her laptop screen to show him a list of jobs hiring in Riverdale. “I’m not talking about stripping - though I did hear the girls at The Hoe Zone make an absolute _killing._ ” 

“Good for them, but I don’t think we have to resort to selling our bodies _just_ yet.” Jughead mused. Betty resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

“They want more waitresses and people to do things like clear glasses and plates during shows. It looks like there’s a new owner trying to revamp the club.” Betty scrolled through the advertisement and pointed at the estimated earnings. “It says they pay their waitresses $40-$65 _per hour,_ and that’s not including tips _._ With my experience waitressing at Pop’s I think I have an actual chance of getting this job…”

Jughead’s eyes drifted to the job description. “Betty, they want you to wear _lingerie._ The Hoe Zone isn’t in the nicest part of the Southside, there’s some dodgy people that hang around there… it might not be safe.” 

“Juggie, we need to be realistic. It’s a job that'll make us a lot of money, of which we are in desperate need. Besides, I don’t think I’d be working there for long - I doubt the respectable patrons of Riverdale’s only strip club will be interested in ogling a pregnant girl.” 

Jughead frowned. “Can’t you just… ask Veronica for more shifts?”

Betty sighed and closed her laptop. “I can’t ask her to do anything else for me. She’s been so supportive of me and she probably _would_ give me more shifts if I asked… but I know she genuinely doesn’t need any more help at Pop’s _or_ La Bonne Nuit. She’d be giving me more shifts than she can afford… I can’t do that to her.” She placed her MacBook on her bedside table.

Jughead rubbed his forehead, a sinking feeling overcoming him. “I don’t like the idea of you working at a strip club.” 

“I haven’t even applied yet, Jug. They might not give me an interview.” Betty responded offhandedly, though Jughead had a feeling that all the interviewer would need to do was take one look at Betty and she’d have the job. She was beautiful, young, skinny, and had legitimate waitressing experience. He’d hire her if _he_ owned a strip club.

He may be biased though; he knew _exactly_ how good Betty looked in lingerie.

“How’s _your_ job hunting going?” Betty asked, peering over his shoulder. 

“Oh, I’ve got one.”

“Already?” Betty asked incredulously.

Jughead minimised his document and opened up the Google Chrome app, then indicated to the webpage he’d been filling out before he got the urge to continue writing his never-ending book. “Yep. You are looking at Riverdale’s newest UberEats delivery driver. I’ve almost finished filling out the forms. There’s a high demand for drivers on the South Side at the moment.” Jughead shrugged. “It’s crappy pay, but it’ll tide me over until I find an _actual_ job. Plus I can just use my bike, which is always a bonus.”

“That _is_ an actual job, Jughead. Work is work, we need to take what we can get right now.” She planted a kiss on his cheek then leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’m proud of you.”

Jughead smiled down at her for a moment. “Still, I’m going to keep looking for more work.” He said determinedly. 

Betty stayed quiet beside him as he scrolled through another webpage full of job listings. There wasn’t a huge variety of work in Riverdale, so he searched through Centerville, Greendale, Midvale and Seaside - though he thought the last town might be a little _too_ far. The sun was starting to set, leaving the room bathed in a deep orange glow that streamed in from the window behind them. _Orange,_ he decided, _is a peaceful colour._

He saved a few of the ads and made a mental note to update his current resume. The sunlight was getting dimmer, so Betty switched the lamp on before returning to her place cuddled up beside him. Jughead kissed the top of her head before he typed New Haven, Connecticut into the job site’s search engine. 

Betty sat up and faced him. “Jug?” She asked softly. “Do you think we’re doing the right thing?”

Jughead paused his search and faced her, trying to keep the nerves from his voice. “Are you having second thoughts about keeping the baby?” Truthfully, _he_ was starting to get used to the idea of them becoming parents. 

“No… my Mom told me once that giving up Charles was the biggest regret of her life.” One of Betty’s hands sat atop her knee, and Jughead watched as she slowly opened and closed her fist. “That really stuck with me; I don’t think I could give my own baby up. And after seeing Polly with the twins recently… I’ve been thinking about how hard it must have been for her in the beginning, but also how far she was willing to go to keep them. It’s put a lot of things into perspective. For instance, I feel so lucky to have you by my side, and that we’re going through everything together.”

Jughead smiled and tried to wrap his head around her words. “So then, what is it?”

Betty sighed. “It’s not the baby I’m worried about, exactly… but I do worry about how _I_ might affect its future.” She stared across the room and focused on the typewriter sitting on the desk. “I know it seems like growing up I had a ‘perfect’ childhood, and honestly it _was_ great most of the time. But while you were away at Stonewall and I was doing the Junior FBI Class, I started remembering things… bad things. Evil things that my dad did to me… that he made _me_ do.” Tears started to well up in her eyes. 

“Betty…” Jughead’s voice came out in a hoarse whisper.

“My dad… he didn’t become a killer overnight. There must have been signs, things that nobody noticed until it was too late.” The tears started to spill over her cheeks. “I think when I was a kid he was training me… to be like _him._ Like his father. And what if I am, Jug? What if there are more things I’ve repressed from my childhood, dark things that are lurking inside me that nobody notices and then one day I get _triggered—”_

“That’s _not_ going to happen.” Jughead could _feel_ the distress in his own voice. “Don’t even entertain that idea. You’re _not_ a serial killer.”

“How do you _know,_ Jug?” She was looking at him now; sickening fear reflected in her fiery green eyes.

“Because I know _you_. Betty, you’re one of the best people on this planet. Everyone makes mistakes, even you and me. And we’re going to make a whole lot more mistakes in our lives; but the mistakes you do make are always for the benefit of your loved ones. Betty, what your dad did wasn’t a mistake, it was just sick and disgusting, and you would _never_ do anything like what he did. You proved it to him, remember? You could have ended him, and you didn’t; because you’re _not_ like him.” 

Betty let out a sob so quiet that Jughead barely heard it. “You’re the only person who truly believes that. Even Veronica, my best friend, and my own mother think I’m capable of some terrible things…” 

There was a hysteria in Betty’s eyes that scared Jughead. “ _Please_ Betty. You’re always telling me to believe in myself. You need to believe in yourself too. Believe that you’re a good person, that you’re always going to be _good_ no matter what messed up things happen to you.” He put his MacBook on the window seat beside him so he could take Betty’s hands in his own. 

Betty looked down at their hands, a look of sheer melancholy on her face. “You deserve better than me.”

“ _No_ Betty, I don’t. You _are_ the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You’re the best thing that’s ever _going_ to happen to me. Anything else good that comes along will just be an added bonus to how happy I am with you.” He put a hand softly against her neck, his thumb pressing on her chin. “You’re the person I want to spend the rest of my life with.” His eyes felt a little glassy as he looked down to her stomach and reached out to run his fingers along the place he knew their _baby_ was growing. “There’s nobody else on this earth who I’d rather be having a child with, no matter how poor the timing is.” He leaned closer to her, and in a voice barely above a whisper he said: “I know you’re going to be an amazing mother.” 

Betty was completely lost for words and too full of emotion, so instead of speaking she wrapped her arms around Jughead’s neck and hugged him tight. She felt his arms wrapping around her waist, pulling her closer. His head rested above hers, and they stayed like that until her tears stopped spilling. 

Even though she felt like a gross mess of tears, she tilted her head up to face Jughead. His lips softly joined hers, as though he could read her mind. It was a slow, tender kiss that was full of warmth and affection - two feelings for Jughead she’d felt growing stronger and stronger every passing day since she’d first realised she was pregnant. 

One of her hands slid up into his hair beneath his beanie, and he reached up to remove it without breaking the pace of their kiss. It was nice sometimes, just kissing without trying to reach a climactic goal. 

“You know…” Betty said, pulling back after a few minutes. “I didn’t hear either of our parents come home yet… and I know for fact that Jellybean is deep into her Minecraft adventure…”

Jughead smirked. “Can’t get enough of me, can you, Cooper?”

“Honestly, these pregnancy hormones are nuts, Juggie. I keep switching between horribly nauseated and _ridiculously_ turned on.” 

Jughead smirked. “Well, I wouldn’t want to interfere with the will of Mother Nature.”

Betty giggled softly and kissed Jughead again, their lips once again moving at that tantalisingly slow pace… but as she moved her mouth down to his neck, Jughead realised there was something nagging at him. He couldn’t quite grasp the thought, but there was something about the way Betty was kissing his neck, her hands slowly inching up his chest that reminded him of— 

_Knock. Knock._ “Jug, are you in there?” FP’s voice drifted in through the closed door, disproving Betty’s no parents in the house theory. 

“Like we’re fifteen again…” Jughead grumbled at the interruption. The nagging thought floated away.

Betty smirked and wiped her eyes, then adjusted her ponytail to try and appear somewhat put together. “At least your dad knows how to _knock_.”

Jughead snorted. “Yeah Dad, in here.” He called out to FP. 

FP slowly opened the door and walked inside, a cautious expression on his face. “Your principal called me. Let me know what happened at school today. Are you okay?” 

Jughead got a better look at FP and immediately stood up. “Dad! You’re bleeding!” His good mood evaporated instantly as he noted the blood on FP’s sleeve.

“I’m fine, boy. All bandaged up.” FP looked down at his arm for a moment before he dismissed Jughead’s concern. “I want to know if _you’re_ okay, Jug.”

Jughead tried to focus on his dad’s face. “Yeah, I’m fine now Dad - honestly. I just got kind of overwhelmed about everything. People are sticking screenshots of that video around the school and it got… a bit _much.”_ Betty patted his knee reassuringly.

“I’m sorry you two have to put up with that crap. Don’t worry, I set Honey straight, but are you _sure_ you’re okay, Jug? You haven’t had a panic attack in a good while…” 

“I’m alright. I promise.” Jughead smiled. “Thanks for checking in though, Dad.”

Betty pointed to the blood on FP’s shirt. “What happened to your arm?” She asked worriedly.

FP sighed and leaned against the wall, his arms crossed in front of him. “Bit of trouble in the South Side this afternoon. Couple of dumpsters set on fire, weird graffiti, some tyres slashed. Nothing _too_ insane, but still. _Trouble_.”

A startling thought occurred to Jughead. “Was it the Ghoulies?”

FP wiped his thumb over his lip. “ _Probably._ It seems like their signature… but I dunno. They’re being more discreet than what I’d expect from them. Usually they don’t care if they get caught, but nobody actually _saw_ any of them.” FP’s face displayed frustration. “If it’s them, then they’ve gotten smarter.”

“Smarter like… maybe whoever’s calling the shots knows what they’re doing?”

“Maybe.” FP gave Jughead a knowing look. He walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed, facing the pair. “The Serpents are going to meet later this week to work out our game plan. Obviously you both should be there, but Jug, _please_ don’t get too mixed up in this.”

“Dad, if the Serpents and the South Side are in trouble…”

“Then _I_ will deal with it. All the Serpents will - but you are so close to getting away from this mess. I want you to keep your head down and focus on getting ready for college. Betty, I don’t want to speak for your Mom but I’m sure she’ll want you to do the same.” FP glanced at the blonde girl, his eyes lingering on her red cheeks.

Jughead toyed with the idea of arguing for a moment, then chose to conquer a more pressing issue. “What happened to your arm?”

FP sighed. “You’re not going to believe me, but I tripped over.”

Jughead’s eyebrows rose. “Really, Dad? You _tripped?”_

FP rolled his eyes. “Yes, Jug, after I helped Archie sort out the fiery _donation_ someone left at the community center, I slipped over while pushing it off to the side, hit a sharp bit of metal sticking out and landed flat on my ass. Sliced my arm open real good; but I’m fine now.” FP pursed his lips. “Scared the hell out of Red, though.”

Jughead became instantly worried. “Wait, do you mean they lit a dumpster on fire at El Royale? Are the kids all okay? Is Archie?”

“They’re all fine, the fire was already out by the time I got there. Archie’s just shitty with me now because we had to shut down the centre for the night. Hiram’s orders, obviously.” A sour expression cemented itself on FP’s face. “Archie _hates_ putting those kids out on the streets.”

Jughead’s perpetual anger with Archie started to evaporate just a little.

Betty sat up straighter. “You don’t think Hiram’s working with the Ghoulies again, do you?”

FP nodded, his eyes hardening. “I wouldn’t put it past him, Betty.” 

Jughead pursed his lips. “I think it could be Penny. When she had that fight with Mom, she was wearing her Ghoulies jacket. And you and I both know she’s smart _and_ sneaky, Dad.” An idea formed in his head. “I have a contact who’s in the Ghoulies: Verne. Maybe I can send a message to him, he seemed willing to talk to me last year—”

“Boy, this is exactly what I meant. I don’t want you getting involved. You have a bright future ahead of you, Jug. Way better than I ever thought possible. I don’t want you stuck in Riverdale, wasting your talent on rum making dictators and potential gang wars.”

“Dad, it doesn’t matter what part of the country I’m in, I’m _always_ going to be a South Side Serpent. That’s not going to change no matter how far away I move.” Jughead said. Guilt was starting to build up inside him. His Dad believed in him so much and wanted more for him. Jughead couldn’t blame him for that - but it made keeping Betty’s pregnancy from his father feel infinitely more deceitful, especially if it meant there was a possibility that his father’s fears of him staying in Riverdale had some credibility.

Although not exactly for the circumstances FP may think… 

FP sighed as he stood up. “Just promise me that whatever is happening in Riverdale, you won’t let it stop you from going to college.”

Jughead’s heart could have stopped right there. “I promise… that I won’t let being in a gang hold me back.” He forced himself to sound confident, but he couldn’t look his father in the eyes.

“Music to my ears, boy.” FP said as he made his way over to the door. “Do you kids feel like pizza for dinner? Jellybean was harassing me for it earlier.” He smiled at the thought, looking entirely unconcerned over his daughter’s apparent ‘harassment’.

“Always, Dad. You know me.” Jughead said. Betty just smiled and nodded.

As soon as FP closed the door Jughead let out a gush of air. He slumped forward, groaning as his head dropped into his hands.

Betty rubbed his shoulders, guilt starting to grow inside her too. “Jug…”

“I know, Betty. I _know.”_

….

“Is Ronnie still giving you the silent treatment?” Reggie asked.

Archie sighed and leaned against the school lockers. “Third day in a row if she doesn’t talk to me by 9am.”

Reggie grabbed a notebook and pencil case out of his locker and closed the door. “Dude, are you actually counting the hours? That’s kind of depressing.” He started making his way down the hallway. 

Archie’s face stayed passive as they made their way towards their first class of the day. “Yeah, well, everything I do these days is ‘kind of’ depressing.”

“Shit man, you’re not like… _suicidal_ are you?” Reggie eyed Archie’s hunched shoulders and the way he gripped the straps of his backpack.

Archie shook his head. “I wouldn’t do something like that to my Mom.” He replied without looking at him.

There was something worrying about Archie’s facial expression that Reggie couldn’t quite put his finger on. Of course, at that exact moment Veronica approached their classroom from the other direction. 

She eyed both boys in front of her, then flicked her hair over her shoulder and strutted into the classroom, closing the door behind her. It rattled against the doorframe.

“Well, that answers _that_ question.” Archie muttered, taking a deep breath before he pushed the door open. 

…. 

It didn’t take too much convincing for Betty to leave her class with Jughead to see Ms Burble. Their literature teacher hadn’t questioned their motives when Jughead asked, so they discreetly left before too many of their classmates came inside.

Truthfully, when Jughead told her Ms Burble might be able to help them sort out a way for them to have the baby _and_ still go to New Haven together as planned, Betty felt a small slither of excitement. She tried not to get her hopes up, but Jughead noticed she was in a marginally better mood as they made their way to Ms Burble’s office.

_If Ms Burble can get through to my mother,_ thought Betty, _she can probably make anything seem possible._ Betty just hoped that what her and Jughead were trying to accomplish wasn’t too far fetched for even Ms Burble to handle.

“I’m glad you’ve both decided to come in today.” Ms Burble said as she settled into the armchair across from the teens. “I don’t have any more sessions booked for a couple of hours, so you have my full attention until then.”

“Thanks Ms B.” Jughead said. 

“Ms Burble…” Betty began. “If we tell you something serious about ourselves, do you have to tell our parents?”

Ms Burble pursed her lips. “What we talk about is confidential unless it concerns your safety. Or if my records are subpoenaed.” When neither Betty or Jughead said anything Ms Burble sighed. “If there’s something specific you need to figure out, I’ll be better able to help you both if I have all the information.”

Betty and Jughead shared a glance. Jughead nodded at her in encouragement. “We just found out that I’m pregnant…” Betty’s voice shook as she spoke the words out loud.

Ms Burble raised her eyebrows slightly. “I see. And are you planning to continue the pregnancy?”

Betty nodded. Jughead slid his fingers through hers, their entwined hands resting between them on the couch. “We’re both trying to be realistic about our options. I know it’s not _common_ for freshmen at Yale to have babies...”

“But if there _is_ a way that going to college could still be an option…” Jughead continued, squeezing her hand. “We just want to at least consider it.”

Ms Burble nodded. She picked up a clipboard from the table between them, and started to make notes. “I won’t lie, college with a baby while you’re both still so young will absolutely be difficult. I can’t tell you what to choose, but if you are both determined to go to college, I’d suggest applying for institutions that are closer to Riverdale than Yale. Perhaps you could even delay attending college until the baby is older, or at least until after he or she is born. There are several good universities relatively close by in New York City; Riverdale Community College and Carson College are also local.”

Betty’s expression dimmed a little.

“Having a baby is a _lot_ of work, and may put strain on your relationship with each other. It would be smart to have a strong support system around you, particularly during the first few months of the baby’s life. I hope you don’t mind me speaking freely, Betty, but given the unplanned circumstances of your pregnancy, your family history of mental health issues, and recent life events, I have concerns that you’re at a high risk of developing postnatal depression. I would recommend that you continue speaking with a psychologist throughout your pregnancy, and as you adjust to new motherhood.”

Jughead and Betty shared equally grim expressions.

“Being that your families are based in Riverdale, another option would be for you both to try and find full time work locally instead of attending college. You don’t need to be rich, but having steady incomes will ease some of the pressure on both of you to provide for your child.”

“We’ve both started applying for jobs in Riverdale, whether that’s permanent or just for the Summer remains to be seen.” Jughead said.

Ms Burble smiled. “Excellent. That shows me that you both understand the seriousness of your responsibilities. You’re both incredibly driven people.” 

“Thanks…” Jughead murmured. 

Ms Burble continued making her notes. “I’ve given you a few scenarios to consider. Now, what are _your_ biggest concerns?”

Betty looked at Jughead, and he swallowed back his fear and opened up. “My parents both dropped out of high school and often struggled to find work for most of my childhood.” He said. “My dad was in and out of jail, my mom struggled to provide for me and my sister… I got bullied for years because we had to move into a trailer after my dad lost his partnership with Andrew’s Construction… if me and Betty both have college degrees, it makes us more employable and less likely to live in… poverty.” He swallowed again. Jughead was unprepared for how emotional he would feel, discussing the reasoning behind why he wanted to at least _try_ and go to college. “I don’t want our baby to grow up the way I did. I have a good relationship with my father _now…_ but it’s not a road I want to go down again.”

Betty traced soft circles on Jughead’s hand as Ms Burble nodded in understanding. “Those feelings are completely valid, Jughead.”

“I know that you can still have a stable career _without_ college.” Jughead continued. “But, I know for a _fact_ that in a small town, finding work in general can be difficult. If we want to live here permanently our job prospects will be better if we have a higher education.”

“I agree with Jughead. I’ve also read all the statistics on teen parents… and based on those, I believe that if we _can_ find a way to go to college, then we _should.”_ Betty stated firmly. “As for Yale… it’s not going to be the end of the world if we don’t go to that _particular_ university, but so far it’s the only institute where we’ve _both_ been accepted. It’s one of the best universities in the country, so it will help us stand out among other job applicants in the future. While we’re both studying full time, I’d imagine it will be easier to manage our schedules if we’re at the same institute when it comes to caring for the baby.” Betty’s determination wavered. “Also… I’m sure support systems are great, but me and Jughead have both been burned by our families before. While it would be amazing to have their support, sometimes it feels like Jughead is the only person I can always rely on. We’re a team, and I believe we can work to become a co-parenting team just as well as we work together on other things.”

“Also good points, Betty.” Ms Burble stated. “Okay, with that in mind, let’s get down to the economic side of things. Yesterday Jughead indicated you both might need assistance applying for scholarships.” Ms Burble said to the pair of them. “I have a list of the ones offered by Yale, but you also might like to look into…”

Ms Burble continued to explain different scholarships and financial aid options they could apply for. Jughead had actually already applied for one that offered him discounted dorm room fees, but Betty seemed surprised that there were so many ways to lessen the financial burden of college. 

“I think…” Betty stated, her cheeks turning pink. “I might not qualify for many of these. My mom started paying back my tuition money she technically stole, and between that, and working for Pop’s both last summer and the past few months, I already have almost twenty thousand saved. Which I was planning to use for upfront payments so I don’t have to take out any loans this year…” 

Ms Burble wasn’t fazed; she had Jughead get out his laptop so they could use Yale’s financial assistance calculator to find an indicator of what financial aid Betty and Jughead would be eligible to receive. Jughead was impressed by the results.

And yet… even with the potential to receive monetary relief, their funds still weren’t going to support a baby. At least, not while they were required to live on campus.

“You’ve both applied for on-campus dorm rooms, yes?” Ms Burble asked. When they nodded, she continued. “If we look into their dorm room policy,” She scrolled through Yale’s website and indicated to the screen, “it notes that you’re not allowed to have pets or make loud noise after 10pm; I would imagine that would make having a baby in the dorm rooms near impossible.” 

Jughead groaned. “So what, are we just going to get kicked out of Yale once the baby’s born?” Betty’s stomach twisted in knots.

Ms Burble shook her head. “Not necessarily. Yale covers the cost of abortions to their students, but they don’t seem to have a policy on what would happen if one of their students was pregnant and _kept_ the baby. We have a bit of grey area to work with. Let’s see…” She scrolled through the page and tried a few different links. “Here we go, living on campus is mandatory for freshmen - unless they’re over twenty one or married. Having a child in the dorms is likely against their policies… honestly, if college is anything like it was in my day, I wouldn’t _want_ to have a baby in the dorm rooms.”

Jughead breathed a laugh. Betty remained solemn.

“Legally, though, they can’t kick you out of your degree for having a baby.” Ms Burble continued. “It would go against their adherence to Title IX - which states that you can’t be excluded from your educational institute because of sex related issues.” Ms Burble turned the laptop back to herself and typed something in before turning the screen back to Betty and Jughead. “If they can’t allow you to live on campus in the dorms with an infant, then they will need to accommodate your situation somehow, otherwise you’d have grounds to sue them for discrimination. That might mean letting you apply for residency in their postgrad family apartments, or the ‘Elm Apartments’ which aren’t technically part of the campus but are only available to students.”

“Or maybe they’d have to let us live off campus?” Betty asked.

Ms Burble nodded. “Precisely. Now, how about we brainstorm a plan for how you can both get prepared…”

…. 

_Meet me in the music room, PRONTO._

The message itself wasn’t too startling on it’s own, but as Betty comprehended who the sender was, she couldn’t help but audibly groan.

“What?” Jughead asked as they made their way to the senior recreation room, hands entwined. Jughead felt lighter; lighter than he’d felt for a week. There was excitement for the future in his heart again, and Betty finally looked like she had some of that pregnancy glow he’d heard about.

“Cheryl wants me to meet up with her. God knows what she wants.” Betty grumbled, looking at her screen.

Jughead couldn’t hold in the snicker that came out. “Maybe to recommend an eating disorder clinic.”

Betty groaned again. “It’s not funny, Jug. She thinks I’m _really_ sick.”

“I heard you throwing up _twice_ this morning, Cooper. You _are_ really sick.” Jughead squeezed her hand.

Betty slowed down her pace. “I better go talk to her.” She leaned in to kiss Jughead’s cheek. “I’ll see you soon, I hope.” She called over her shoulder as she walked back in the direction of the music room.

As she walked past the other students, she noticed a significant difference in how they treated her. If she was with Jughead, people tended to keep their comments to themselves. She still got dirty looks, but typically only the really brave (and stupid) members of the student body would have something to say directly to her face.

When she was walking alone, however…

“Slut.” One voice whispered as she walked past. Her lips tightened into a line, and she tried to focus on the hall directly in front of her and block out the idiots walking past her.

_Two more days,_ she reminded herself. _Two more days, then it's Prom Night, then graduation day, then no more school. You can handle two more days of this._

“Get a sticky maple from any more gangbangers last night, Betty?” A male’s voice, one she actively chose to ignore. Laughter followed the comment.

“Hey Betty. Call me if you want someone _new_ to rough you up.” Said another voice.

There were wolf-whistles as she passed a few varsity jocks. Giggles as she passed some freshman girls. A death glare as she passed Ethel Muggs - though that one didn’t last long as the other girl briskly turned and walked away from her.

A boy in her grade - _Louis,_ she thought his name might be - stepped into her line of sight, and in a low, husky voice he said: “I’ll wait for you under the bleachers, baby.” He winked as Betty sidestepped him. 

Betty shivered as she made the final few steps towards the music room. She steeled herself before she pushed open the door and quickly shut it behind her.

“I want it noted that this was _not_ my idea.” 

Betty turned towards the voice. “Kevin? I thought that Cheryl…”

“Right here, cousin.” Cheryl was seated on the other side of the room, and Betty put it down to a lack of sleep that she didn’t realise the other girl was already in there.

Betty frowned. “What’s going on, guys?”

Cheryl dragged a couple of chairs over to Betty. “Sit with me, cousin. We just want to talk to you.”

Kevin pushed his own chair over. Betty forced herself to contain her feeling of dread as she sat down next to Cheryl. To Betty’s surprise, Cheryl reached out and took her hand. 

“I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching…”

Kevin butted in. “And by that, she means _stalking.”_ Kevin raised an eyebrow as his eyes ran over Cheryl.

“Do you want to help Betty or not?” Cheryl snapped at him. Kevin crossed his arms over his chest.

“You guys, I don’t know what this is about, but I promise I’m fine.” Betty said weakly.

“Betty, everyone can see that you’re _not_ fine.” Kevin said seriously. “No offence, B, but you look worn out. You’ve left several classes to go to the bathroom the past couple weeks, where I can only assume you continued on what Cheryl has described is a consistent routine of vomiting.”

“And I’m sorry for pointing this out but you’ve lost a lot of weight.” Cheryl added. “And to be honest, I feel partially responsible.” Her eyes turned down.

Betty’s head was starting to hurt. “It’s not your fault, Cheryl.”

“But I _did_ contribute to your emotional pain. And I feel that it’s only right that I offer you the _sincerest_ of apologies.”

“Good God, here we go.” Muttered Kevin, an apologetic look on his face.

Cheryl shot him a glare, then turned back to Betty. “During our freshman year, I was angry and embarrassed that I had to repeat the entire grade whilst my twin continued on to bigger and brighter things in the sophomore year of his dreams.” Cheryl said wistfully. “I was honestly jealous - he was obsessed with sports and the Maple Industry and your sister, and I felt like I was losing the only person in the world who loved me. So I took my misguided rage and I put it all on you. And you didn’t deserve it.” Cheryl actually looked like she was going to cry. Betty’s heart sunk. “I was _so_ wrong to do that to you. You didn’t need to lose weight then, and you _certainly_ don’t need to lose weight now, I mean that from the very depths of my soul.” Cheryl held her free hand against her chest for dramatic emphasis. “You are _stunning,_ Miss Betty Cooper, please, _please_ listen to me.”

Betty tried to keep her eyes from tearing up. “Cher… I really do appreciate the apology but I _promise_ there’s nothing to worry about. I’m _fine.”_

Kevin spoke up. “Betty, I love a good weight loss journey as much as the next person, but not at the extent of your health.” He glanced over at Cheryl. “I might only be here because Cheryl wanted backup and she’s avoiding Veronica—”

“I’m not avoiding _Veronica,_ I’m just respectfully delaying her inevitable devastation by limiting my presence in her social life until the time comes when I can be honest about her beau’s Judas-like transgressions—”

”Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Kevin rolled his eyes at Cheryl, who looked offended. “As I was saying, I might not have gone about it _quite_ in this way, but Cheryl does have some good points. We’re both worried about you, Betty. I know it’s been a rough couple of years and I just don’t want to see you getting hurt.” Kevin reached out to take Betty’s other hand. “I’m sorry we’ve gone all _Intervention_ on you, but we really just want you to know that you can come to us if you’re struggling.”

Betty couldn’t hold the tears back. “Guys, I’m _so_ sorry that you’ve been this worried about me. And that I’ve been lying to you…”

“It’s okay, cousin! You don’t have to feel bad.” Cheryl pulled Betty in for a hug.

She let Cheryl hug her for a moment before she pulled back. “It does mean a lot to me that you want to help me, but I can promise you both. I’m not sick. And I’m not bulimic, Cheryl. That’s not why I’ve been throwing up.”

Kevin gave her an exasperated expression. “Betty, seriously…”

“ _No,_ Kev, honestly I’m not sick.” Betty tried to steady her voice and build up her resolve. “I’m _really_ not sick, guys…”

….

“What’s the point of us being at school again?” Toni asked Jughead as she sat down with him at a table in the senior lounge. “Seriously, all our exams are officially finished. There’s nothing else we need to be here for.”

Jughead considered the question. “I guess we’re just soaking in the final few hours of childhood before we’re unleashed onto the real world.”

Toni laughed and shook her head. “The real world is _not_ ready for the insane crap we’re all going to put it through.” She looked back up at Jughead for a moment, her face difficult to read. “Speaking of childhood…” Toni muttered, then lowered her voice to just an octave above a whisper. “I’ve been wanting to ask you, how far along is Betty?”

Jughead froze, his hand - which held a tortilla chip - halfway up to his mouth. His eyes darted to scan the other students; he desperately hoped nobody had heard Toni’s question. 

“Relax, Jones. Nobody can hear us.” Toni nodded towards a group of other students, who were loudly debating their points of view on some kind of YouTube celebrity meltdown. 

Jughead couldn’t find it in himself to feel better. “How did you know?” He popped the chip into his mouth to avoid answering her question.

Toni shrugged. “It’s been a mixture of the things I’ve noticed; her tiredness, moodiness, sickness, the way _you’ve_ been hovering around her - but honestly, Cheryl kept sharing her concern for Betty’s health and I realised what was going on pretty quick after that. I just didn’t want to share my suspicions with Cheryl because it’s Betty’s choice to tell her family about it.”

Jughead crinkled the plastic of his tortilla packet between his fingers so he’d have something to ground himself. “Is it really that obvious? I live with her and I had _no_ idea until she literally shoved pregnancy tests into my hands, but you’re like, the fourth person to figure it out through observation alone.”

Toni’s face held an incredulous expression. “It’s obvious, Jones.”

Jughead looked solemnly down at the table as he crunched on his tortilla chips. A few more students entered the lounge and walked past their table, unknowingly pausing their conversation. Jughead watched as they all sat at the table next to them. In lieu of answering Toni’s original question _‘how far along is Betty?’_ Jughead held up ten fingers, then put one hand down and held three fingers up with the other. 

“ _Shiiiiiit.”_ Toni said quietly, drawing out the ‘i’. “So this happened _before_ you… you know, _almost died?”_

Jughead nodded. “It’s scary to think… if she wasn’t there to find me… if Archie and Veronica weren’t there to help her… hell, if my brother wasn’t _literally_ an FBI agent…”

“Stop.” Toni held up a hand. “You’re _here,_ Jughead. Your quick-thinking and intelligent-to-a-terrifying-degree girlfriend is not alone in this, and she never will be. So don’t even entertain that thought.”

Jughead exhaled. “Yeah, you’re right… no point spiralling about the ‘what if’s’.”

“I’m always right, Jones.” Toni smirked. “So… what are you guys gonna do, if you don’t mind me asking?” Toni asked once the other group had started their loud conversation. Her voice lowered a few octaves. “You’re keeping it, right? I got that vibe off Betty.”

Jughead rolled his eyes. “We’re just one extremely predictable plot line to you, aren’t we?”

Toni smirked and shook her head. “You guys will be okay. If Cheryl and I can keep twin toddlers alive while caring for her Nanna _and_ running the Maple Club and _still_ finish High School with 4.0 GPAs, you and Betty can survive college with a newborn.”

“That’s… actually kind of comforting.” Jughead offered her the tortilla packet.

She pulled out a couple of chips. “I’m not just a pretty face, Jug.”

Jughead snorted. “Speaking of college, have you heard back from Highsmith?”

Toni stiffened. “Yep.” She took her time chewing her chips and avoided Jughead’s eyes. 

Jughead raised his eyebrows. “And…?” Toni was still taking forever to swallow her food. “You gonna leave me hanging here, Topaz?”

Toni swallowed and sighed. “I got in.”

Jughead sat up straighter. “That’s great, Toni! Congratulations.” He reached a fist over the table.

Toni half-heartedly knocked her knuckles against Jughead’s. “Thanks. It’s a dream come true…”

Jughead studied her expression. “Then why do you look so down about it?”

Toni planted her elbow on the table and leaned her cheek against her hand. “I haven’t told Cheryl I got in yet.”

“What? _Why?_ ” Jughead’s eyebrows furrowed. “She’s going there too, isn’t she? She’ll be ecstatic that you’re going to the same school.”

“I know she will. And I’m so grateful to her because if it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t have even gotten an interview with the Dean. It’s just…” Toni fiddled with the end of her freshly-recoloured purple hair. “It’s _crazy_ expensive. Like, exclusively upper-class, ‘daddy’s money’ expensive. I know Cheryl will pay for my tuition, and that she can afford to, but I’d never be able to pay her back. Don’t get me wrong, she’d never ask me to pay her back; she was genuinely offended when I brought it up a few weeks ago, actually. But I just feel like her paying for me to go to college would create an unhealthy imbalance to our relationship. I don’t want to be completely financially dependent on my girlfriend, or be a burden to her. I’d feel like I was abusing her kindness and love for me.” 

Jughead thought he’d never hear ‘kindness’ attributed to Cheryl Blossom, but he didn’t interrupt.

Toni said up straighter and met Jughead’s eyes. “The thing is, I also got into NYU… on a full scholarship. I’m talking on-campus residency, food, tuition, textbooks - _everything_. And they offer a bigger variety of the classes I’m interested in.”

Jughead’s eyes widened. “Please tell me you’re accepting it.”

“Of course I am, I’m not an idiot.” Toni rolled her eyes, seeming a little more like her usual self. 

Jughead gave her a knowing look. “But you haven’t told Cheryl.”

Toni let out an exasperated sigh. “You must think I’m crazy for not telling her.” 

“I wouldn’t use the word ‘crazy’, but I am a little confused.”

Toni chewed her lip. “The thing is, Cheryl’s having a hard time adjusting to having Polly back in Riverdale.”

“Okay, _not_ the direction I thought this conversation was going.” Jughead sat back and listened intently.

“Yeah.” Toni nodded. “I know. It’s nothing against Polly personally… it’s just that Cheryl has lost her entire family, _except for the twins._ The only children of her deceased _twin_ brother. And she’s been their primary caregiver for over a year. Even though Betty, Alice and Nanna Rose - and me - have been heavily involved with their care, it’s _Cheryl_ that the twins cry for at night when they’re scared. It’s Cheryl who takes them to doctors appointments and looks after them when they’re sick. It’s her hugs and kisses that cheer them up when they fall over and hurt themselves. She’s the one who made sure they were up to date with their vaccinations, and checks that they’re meeting their milestones, and researches early learning activities for them. It’s Cheryl that they run to when they’re excited because they stacked all their blocks on top of each other like she taught them - or when they see a _butterfly_.” 

In spite of himself, Jughead felt a slither of empathy for Cheryl. “And now their mother is back.”

“Exactly.” Toni’s expression became melancholic. “Their mother is back, and although Cheryl may deny it, she’s struggling to cope with the feelings that she might lose the twins too. I honestly believe if Polly didn’t come home that Cheryl would have given up college just to raise the twins; and that’s even _after_ Alice told Cheryl she was looking at places to rent with the twins so that Cheryl wouldn’t be held back from her future.”

That surprised Jughead. “I had no idea Alice was even thinking about that. Her and my dad seem disgustingly solid in their relationship.”

“I’m sure they are, Jug. I’m not trying to start any Jones family drama.” Toni appeared to regret bringing it up. “But think about it - her daughter was severely mentally ill, and her grandchildren were being raised predominantly by teenagers who are about to start college. It makes complete sense that she’d want to take over their care, regardless of whatever relationship she’s in with your dad. But, I don’t think she was planning to break up with him or anything, if you’re worried about that.”

“No, no, I’m not worried… well, I don’t think I am.” A thought lit up in Jughead’s mind like a metaphorical cliche. “Wait… is this why you’re worried about telling Cheryl you don’t want to go to Highsmith?” Toni just looked at him. “Because Highsmith and NYU are literally both in New York City. It’s not like you’re going to colleges in different states. She won’t be ‘losing’ you.”

“I know. _I know._ It’s just that, I also know what Cheryl’s like…”

“Toni, you can’t hide things from her just because you’re worried about what her reaction will be. _That’s_ unhealthy. Did you not see what happened between me and Archie? _Direct_ result of someone hiding things in an attempt to spare someone else’s feelings.”

“I know. You’re right.” Toni stated seriously. Then, a glint of humour appeared in her eyes and she dramatically whispered. “Of course, I don’t know if I should be trusting relationship advice from a _teen father.”_

Jughead faked a gasp. “You _wound_ me.” They grinned at each other, then another thought occurred to Jughead. “Oh, _that’s_ why Cheryl’s been so obsessive over Betty’s health. She’s scared that her cousin is sick and she’s going to lose her too.”

Toni raised her hands. “See what I mean? She’s over the top in her expression of it but she cares _deeply_ about her family. By the way, _how_ exactly are Betty and Cheryl related? I’ve never gotten a straight answer from either of them…”

Jughead felt laughter building inside him. “Strap in, Topaz, for a tale so gruesome in it’s woe that, rumour has it, those who hear it _weep_ in fear…”

…..

“I’m _not_ sick.” Betty reiterated. She took a deep breath, hoping someone would burst into the music room so she wouldn’t have to finish her statement. No such luck, but since when had the universe granted her any favours? “I’m… _pregnant._ ”

Cheryl and Kevin both froze. Kevin’s eyes had never been wider. Cheryl’s mouth actually dropped open. For an uncomfortable stretch of time, neither spoke.

Betty squared her shoulders. “I’m pregnant. So both of you can stop worrying about my health - apparently throwing up is an _annoyingly_ normal part of pregnancy.” Betty crossed her arms in front of her.

Kevin was the first to recover. “How is that meant to make us _stop_ worrying, B?” His expression became less shocked, more concerned. “Does Jughead know? I mean…” He paused for a moment, and his next question was full of nervous energy. “Jughead _is_ the father, right?”

Betty felt like she’d been punched in the chest. “How can you even ask me that?” She didn’t even try to hide the hurt from her voice. “You think I don’t hear what everyone is saying about me behind my back? I thought at least my friends wouldn’t think so low of me.”

Kevin’s eyes became the size of saucers once more. “Oh, God, Betty, _no!_ That’s not what I meant.” A horrified expression came over him. “I just know you’ve been avoiding Archie, and you’ve seemed so down lately, and after Jughead _literally_ tried to kill him I thought maybe…”

“What, that I cheated on Jughead with _Archie_? Seriously Kev?!” A hot rage was beginning to build inside Betty.

“Not intentionally!” Kevin tried to take Betty’s hand again but she recoiled. “Not even cheating, really. I just wanted to make sure that no-one - Archie or otherwise - had _hurt_ you or forced you into something… I wasn’t trying to imply you were sleeping around. I’m sorry… really, Betty, I’m so sorry - that came out completely wrong. There’s all these dots that I’m only just _now_ connecting, and it’s a lot to process…” 

A tiny bit of tension left Betty’s body. “Well you only need to process this - _it’s Jughead’s baby._ End of discussion.” Betty was _far_ from over her anger with Kevin, but she took a breath and tried to release some of her emotions; he was trying to be a good friend, it wasn’t his fault that she’d misunderstood his intentions.

“Let me just rewind this conversation for a moment, cousin.” Cheryl said, the shock gone from her face, a confused expression in its place. “You’re _not_ ill… everything I’ve noticed the past couple of weeks hasn’t been because you’re struggling with an eating disorder… it’s because you’re with child?”

Guilt started to replace Betty’s anger. “Yes, Cher… I know I should have told you. I’m sorry I haven’t already said something. I never wanted you to worry, either of you. But yes, me and Jughead are having a baby, and that’s the cause of anything you may have noticed is ‘off’ about me. I just wasn’t ready for everyone to find out yet, because honestly, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, me and Jughead are dealing with enough right now. So if you could both keep this to yourselves for a while I’d really appreciate it.”

“Of course, we will!” Kevin said quickly. “Right, Cheryl?”

“You’re really pregnant?” Cheryl asked again, her expression unreadable.

Betty’s grip on her elbows tightened. “Yeah, Cheryl. I _really_ am.” 

Cheryl’s face - much to Betty’s surprise - lit up like a Christmas Tree. “Oh, Betty, I’m so happy for you!” She leaned forward on her seat and threw her arms around her cousin to draw her into a hug.

Bettyes eyes went wide. “You are?” 

“You _are_?” A shocked Kevin repeated, his eyes glued to the back of Cheryl’s head.

Cheryl drew back and put her hands on Betty’s shoulders. “Yes! This is amazing news! You and your Edgelord Partner in Crime are bringing _life_ into the world. The twins are going to have a little cousin to play with - or _cousins_ if you’ve inherited the Blossom twin gene.” She eyed Betty’s abdomen.

Betty couldn’t help herself; Cheryl’s enthusiasm brought a smile to her face. “Just one baby. I had my first ultrasound yesterday.”

Cheryl squealed and hugged Betty again. “I’m so excited, cousin. For you _and_ Jughead.” She pulled away, her eyes still full of joy. “Do you have a picture of the ultrasound?”

“They didn’t have printers at Planned Parenthood.” Betty replied, and at the look of mild disappointment on Cheryl’s face she added: “But Jughead took a photo of the computer screen on his phone. I’ll ask him to send it to you tonight.” Warmth was spreading throughout Betty’s body. 

“Thank you.” Cheryl said earnestly. She placed a hand on Betty’s knee. “I’m really glad that you’re not sick, B. I was _so_ worried about you, you have no idea.”

Kevin looked between the two girls. “Okay, yes you’re not ‘sick’, which is _great_ news, Betty. But… _are_ you okay?” His eyes scanned Betty’s body.

Betty paused for a moment. “Yeah Kev… I _am_ okay.” She said.

And for the first time in weeks, she meant it.

….

Unfortunately, the feeling didn’t last long. 

“Not _again._ ” Kevin muttered, anger clouding his features.

Betty couldn’t stop the way her nails dug into her palms as she assessed her locker. While the snake Sweet Pea had drawn on her locker remained in its place, _Serpent Slut_ had once again been written above the hastily drawn animal.

And once again, screen shots from her sex tape were taped to the surrounding metal. 

“Who the hell keeps _doing_ this?!” Kevin exclaimed. He spun around to shoot accusing glances at the other students in the hall. Several of them snickered, a few took snapshots with their phones of Betty glaring at her locker. “If this was Brittney I swear to God...”

Cheryl walked closer to the locker. She picked at the edge of one of the photos, a studious expression on her face. “Oh I am _so_ not going to stand for this.” She turned and started to head back in the direction they’d walked from. 

“Cheryl, where are you going? We need to help Betty get rid of these!” 

Cheryl turned for a moment. “I _am_ helping Betty.” She spun on her heel and flitted away, her red hair sashaying like a whip.

Kevin ripped off one of the photos. “If Cheryl does something crazy, I apologise in advance for not tackling her to the ground.”

Betty drew in a ragged breath and closed her eyes. Her hands were curled in so hard that she knew the nails had cut the skin. She focused on her breathing, but the anger was still raging rampant inside her. “Honestly Kev, at this point I’d welcome crazy.” Betty loosened her fists slightly. “Maybe we should just leave it. Someone will probably just do it all over again tomorrow.”

“Now _that’s_ crazy, Betty. We’re not leaving this crap on here.” Kevin started pulling the pictures down. 

Betty’s voice displayed an icy calm that contradicted the fiery anger that burned inside her. “Is it, though? Someone seems really determined to remind me that I had sex with my boyfriend.” She pulled off one of the images. “And I must be a massive slut for enjoying it if my facial expressions are anything to go by.”

“Give me that.” Kevin grumbled as he took the photo from her then ripped it in half.

The school speaker system crackled. _“Good afternoon Riverdale High! This is your student body president: Cheryl Marjorie Blossom.”_

“Oh God, _why…”_ Kevin looked up at the speaker nearest to them. Betty felt some of the anger leave her as she unclenched her hand and looked up to the speaker.

_“Since apparently the FBI’s visit to our school last week did nothing to deter some of you miscreants, I would like to offer this friendly reminder that the distribution of child pornography is illegal. That includes printing and sharing screen shots of any of your classmates in their undressed forms.”_

Kevin and Betty shared nervous glances.

_“For anyone who does not know what I’m talking about, consider yourselves lucky. Our sacred high school walls have been befallen to a voyeuristic fiend; one who knows exactly who they are and what they did. And when I find out who is responsible for this latest and most outrageous act of bullying against one of Riverdale High’s finest students, I will unleash a plague upon you so biblical in its enactment that you will wish that you were born in a place far, far away from the Blossom family.”_

_“That’s quite enough threats for now, Miss Blossom…”_ Mr Honey’s voice filtered through, though at a slightly quieter and subdued tone.

Cheryl’s vindicated voice cut him off. _“This message is_ not _a threat, it is a_ promise _of my wrath. Have a fantastic day Riverdale High. Toodles.”_

Complete silence filled the hallway as those who were standing around all looked over at Betty’s locker. A few expressions held guilt, and most of those people were avoiding eye contact with Betty. Some people still snickered as they shuffled away to their next class. 

“Are you okay?” Kevin asked Betty, a worried expression on his face.

Betty smirked. “You know what? Cheryl’s insanely passionate defence is a welcome change from the way everyone else in this damn place is treating me.” Betty shot a glare over at the group of junior cheerleaders who were pretending to chat at their locker so they could loiter in the hall and watch Betty. 

A blonde cheerleader stiffened. “Aahhh… let’s go Vixens, class is almost starting.”

The brunette cheerleader to her right looked at her in confusion. “But, Britt—”

“ _Now.”_ Said the blonde cheerleader, panic in her eyes as Betty stared her down. She dragged two of her friends by the arms down the hall and as far from Betty and Kevin as they could get.

Kevin shook his head. “I swear we’re trapped in the middle of a TV drama.”

Betty sighed and pulled off another one of the photos.

The sound of rapid footsteps against the floor came from their left. “Betty!” Jughead’s voice called out. Betty looked over to him and noticed the distressed look on his face. Toni came jogging behind him, looking nervously at Jughead.

“Don’t worry about it, Jug.” Betty said flatly as Jughead came to a stop in front of her locker. His expression changed instantly from worried to angry.

“What the _fuck_ is wrong with people?!” Jughead’s voice was almost a growl. In one motion, he roughly wrenched his hands down the front of the locker; most of the photos were separated instantly and slowly floated down to the floor.

Betty put her hand on his shoulder. She had no response for him, and could feel herself tearing up. _Again._

Jughead’s nostrils flared. “When I find out who did this…”

“Betty.” Toni reached down and grabbed one of the photos from the floor. She held it up to her face, her eyes widening. “Isn’t… isn’t this your bedroom?” She handed the photo to Betty.

Her heart beating hard in her chest, Betty took the photo and assessed it. It was an image of Jughead and Betty, like all the other photos. But in this image, Betty was (though skimpily) clothed in black lingerie and stradling Jughead, who was seated on a wooden chair. And that chair… was her white desk chair… 

… the one that was indeed in her _bedroom._ As Betty looked closer, she noticed the colours of the wall behind her and Jughead. The side of the white set of drawers was visible, as was a shelf above their desk.

“Oh my God.” Jughead gently tugged the photo from Betty. “I… this is like the photo taped to Mr Honey’s door yesterday… but we’re in different positions. I didn’t realise — Betty, this photo is from our bedroom.” Jughead was breathing rapidly. “How did I not realise that photo was from our bedroom!?” 

Betty couldn’t focus on the implications of the photo. It was _too_ personal. _Too much_ of an invasion of privacy, and Betty didn’t want to think about what it meant. 

So instead she turned and put her hands on Jughead’s shoulders. “Hey, look at me.” Jughead looked into her eyes, his breath coming in pants. “You had a rough time with that yesterday, and you’ve had _other things_ on your mind.” She moved her hands up to his cheeks. “Don’t give whoever this is the satisfaction of getting under your skin.”

And suddenly, the nagging thoughts that were lingering in Jughead’s mind the previous night came floating back. Betty kissing Jughead’s neck, running her hands along his chest… it reminded him of a night together they’d had on a rare evening when they’d had the house completely to themselves… and that night was the one depicted in both the photo from Mr Honey’s office and the one still in his hands.

And that night had only happened a month ago.

“Betty…” Jughead choked out. “There’s a camera in our bedroom.” His hands tightened around the photograph.

Betty stiffened and pulled the photo out of Jughead’s hand. Her hands shook as she looked at the image. “No. There isn’t… look at the angle it's taken in. Whoever took this was _outside_ the window.”

Kevin got closer to Betty. “But how would they have gotten close enough to your window to take these photos? Your bedroom’s on the second floor.” 

“Maybe a ladder…” Jughead mused, his breathing still coming out in pants.

A strong wave of nausea crashed over Betty so suddenly that she knew there‘d be no time to make it to the bathroom. “Excuse me for a minute.” She turned and hurried over to the trash can in the corner of the hallway, where she promptly threw up. When she managed to stand up, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand with a grimace, she turned and noted that Jughead was now standing behind her. There was a vulnerable look of anguish in his eyes that pulled on Betty’s heart strings.

“You okay?” Jughead whispered. When Betty nodded tentatively, he continued. “If there _is_ a camera somewhere in our house, we need to be sure…” 

Toni approached them, just in time to hear Betty say: “I need to know right now, Juggie… I can’t wait around all afternoon for school to end.” Stress was evident in her voice.

“You guys go.” Toni said firmly. “We’ll handle this.” She pointed her thumb over her shoulder.

…. 

  
  


Even though they were half jogging, half speed walking home, the walk back to their house felt longer than ever. 

By the time they arrived, Jughead no longer felt as though he was three seconds from hyperventilating. Betty still had a firm grip on his hand, but her anger had slowly seeped out with every step she took. In its place was a grim feeling of acceptance. Her mind could only focus on one question: _When is this going to end?_

The front door was already unlocked when Jughead tried it, so he and Betty stiffened. 

“Jug…” 

“Yeah…” 

“Maybe we shouldn’t go inside.” Betty glanced behind them nervously.

Jughead squared his shoulders. “We’re being paranoid. Your mom probably got home early.” He hesitated before pushing the door open. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his switchblade. “Just in case.” He muttered as he pushed the door open.

“Hey, what are you two doing home - _boy_ you better not be taking that thing to school.” FP’s voice called from the kitchen as he eyed the switchblade in Jughead’s hand. FP and Mary Andrews were both seated at the dining table, surrounded by documents, coffee mugs in both their hands. FP pulled off his reading glasses. 

Jughead slumped in relief and shoved the small weapon back into his pocket. “What are _you_ doing home?” He ignored FP’s concerned look.

“Hi Mrs Andrews.” Betty said politely as she walked inside, a hint of confusion in her voice. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing you two need to worry about.” FP said evasively. “How come you’re both not at school?”

Jughead approached the table and gave FP a once-over. “This doesn’t look like a friendly catchup, Dad. So let’s cut the crap; Why do you need a lawyer? What did you do?” 

“Nothing, Jug. Don’t worry about it.” FP averted his gaze. Mary’s face was perfectly composed. “What are you doing at home?”

Jughead’s eyes narrowed, but he dropped the topic. “This is what.” He marched the rest of the way into the kitchen, Betty trudging behind him. He slammed a photo down in front of his Dad.

FP picked it up, his face twisting into a grimace. “What’s this?” 

“ _That_ was taped to Betty’s locker, along with the words “Serpent Slut” and other photos for the _second_ day in a row. But _this_ photo was taken in our bedroom. And before you ask, _no_ we didn’t take any of these photos because believe it or not me and Betty actually like keeping our sex life to _ourselves_.” Jughead was rapidly becoming more tense.

Betty awkwardly crossed her arms in front of her chest as Mary picked up the photo. “Is anybody threatening you with these photos at school?” Mary asked with concern.

Jughead rubbed his forehead. “No.” He said. Betty bit her lip. 

Mary’s gaze shifted from Jughead to Betty. “Is somebody threatening _you_ at school?” 

When Betty didn’t answer, Jughead turned to her. “Betty?”

Betty shook her head. “It’s not _threats,_ not directly. It’s just empty words. Just idiots jeering at me in the hallways when they catch me alone, making dumb remarks.” 

“ _Who?_ Tell me their names and I’ll sort them out.” Jughead stood up taller as his hands clenched into fists.

Betty couldn’t meet Jughead’s eyes. “Calm down, Juggie. They’re hormonal teenaged idiots. It’s not worth it.” 

“ _Don’t_ tell me to calm down. None of this is even remotely in the realm of ‘calm’.”

“Well getting mad at _me_ isn’t going to help either of us.” Betty’s frustration was rapidly reaching its daily limit. 

“Jug…” FP started, looking between Betty and Jughead like he wasn’t sure if he should intervene.

Jughead closed his eyes and took a breath. “I’m sorry. I’m not mad at _you_ , Betts.”

Betty placed her hand on Jughead’s arm. “I know you’re not. You’re right, I’m sorry too.” Betty gnawed on her lip for a second. “Let’s just… go upstairs and search our room for anything suspicious.”

“I can come back later.” Mary suggested calmly, giving FP an understanding look.

Jughead held up his hands. “It’s fine, Dad. We can handle it on our own. You keep doing… whatever the hell _this_ is.” He looked down at the table and scanned the papers closest to him. “Why do you have Jellybeans old report cards out? And… wait, are those my release papers from _juvie?_ ” His eyes widened and darted back up to FP.

FP grabbed a handful of files and dragged them closer. “I said don’t worry about it Jug. Do you kids want help looking for cameras outside? Maybe you _should_ come back later, Mary…”

Jughead studied the nervous look on his father’s face. FP’s forehead was creased, his brows furrowed, and sweat seemed to be making his face shine. “Dad. What is happening?”

But FP was in no mood to negotiate. “When you need to know I’ll tell you. Stay out of it, boy. I mean it.”

“Fine. Hide things from me. That’s _definitely_ going to help us.” Jughead tried to keep the anger from his face as he whipped around and started to march up the staircase. 

As Betty followed behind him she heard FP sigh loudly. Years of practiced eavesdropping stealth in the once-Cooper house assisted with Betty’s silent descent a few steps down the staircase, where she could stay in earshot without being seen.

Mary’s voice was barely above a whisper when she said. “You know, if he has to testify then you _will_ have to tell him.”

“I don’t want him testifying. I don’t want _either_ of my kids in that courtroom.” FP grumbled.

“If this goes to trial it’s likely that he’ll get subpoenaed by the other side. If I have Jughead subpoenaed to testify for the _defence_ then that could work in your favour…”

Betty’s heart started to beat faster. Her ears were straining so hard she could almost hear them ringing, but she couldn’t make out what FP whispered.

“Which one of us is the lawyer here, FP? I know what I’m doing, you just need to trust me.” Mary’s everlasting calm would have been inspiring if Betty wasn’t so rattled by the conversation. “I’m still going to try and have the judge throw the case out. It’s not an impossible outcome - this whole lawsuit is ridiculous.”

“I don’t know, Mary… Maybe they know what shady shit Gladys is into; if they bring _that_ up…”

“Well, you’re not involved in that, regardless.” There was silence for a few seconds. “While I’m looking for something we can use from Jellybean’s journaling project, do you want to start looking for something good her teachers have said in her report cards?”

When they both went back to being silent, Betty slowly inched her way back up the staircase. 

Jughead was standing just outside their bedroom door, waiting for her. “What did you find out, Nancy Drew?” He whispered. Betty held a finger up to her lips and pushed him into the bedroom. She closed the door behind her and led him over to the bed.

“Someone is suing your Dad. I couldn’t tell why, but Mrs Andrews wants to get you to testify on his behalf.” Betty said quietly. “Your dad is against you testifying, but Mrs Andrew’s is worried you’re going to be given a subpoena anyway.”

Jughead paled. “Who’s suing him?”

Betty frowned. “The only thing I could tell for sure is that it’s _not_ your Mom.”

Jughead stood up from the bed. “I’m going back down there.”

“Jug…” Betty stood up and grasped his hand to stop him from leaving. “I’m all for figuring out what’s going on with your Dad, but he doesn’t sound like he’s ready to talk. Bombarding him now is just going to interfere with whatever Mrs Andrews is doing to _help_ him.” Betty looked around the bedroom. “Maybe we should focus on one legal crisis at a time…”

Jughead exhaled loudly. “Okay. Alright. You search that side of the room for hidden cameras, and I’ll start over here.” He walked over to the bedroom window that faced Archie’s room - the window that Betty suspected was where the photo was taken.

Betty tried to force out all of the stress and sickening worry she felt and focused on the investigation at hand. Though as she opened drawers and inspected the walls behind her books, whether it was because of paranoia or genuine fear, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched... 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the low key cliff hanger, i just felt like i needed to end this chapter before if got too massive. Next one will be up shortly:)
> 
> Up Next: prom, graduation, Varchie drama and Bughead being the investigative duo we all love.
> 
> Betty and Jughead spend some alone time together, Charles finds a new lead in his investigation into The Watcher, Jellybean talks to a friend who might not be the best influence, and Jughead gets a surprising visitor. 
> 
> — the Next few chapters will be less ‘day-by-day’ and more ‘week-by-week’


	13. Well, that’s childhood over. Now what?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty and Jughead start unravelling the voyeuristic web they’re caught in, which is beginning to have some unexpected consequences for their sex life. Archie tries to make amends, with varying results. Alice suggests an unusual way of dealing with the school bullies. 
> 
> And thanks to a special performance and an accidental slip up, Prom ends up being just as drama-filled as we’ve all anticipated... 
> 
> Bonus Content: Juniper and Dagwood being cuties, and Reggie shamelessly hitting on Polly Cooper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright let’s be honest: this chapter took me aaaages to write because I really just wanted all the ‘high school’ aspects of this story behind me so I can get to the college years (low key understand why Riverdale is having a 7 year time jump).
> 
> I’m hoping that the length of this chapter makes up for how long you all had to wait for an update (it’s pushing 20k words... my bad). Thank you so so SO much to everyone who messaged me and commented about how keen you were for my next chapter. Knowing there are people as interested in this fanfic as I am honestly makes me even more excited about writing it.
> 
> I’ve already written a lot of the next chapter and have a clear vision for how it’s going to proceed, so hang tight, guys. The wait shouldn’t be too much longer!
> 
> As an aside, I’m not going to pretend I’m creative enough to write my own song lyrics - so the real name and artist of ‘Archie’s’ song will be listed in the end chapter notes (If it’s not obvious - fans of Hardin and Tessa may guess what it is).
> 
> There’s also a nod to a deleted scene from season one in this chapter. See if you can guess what it is ;)

_To my absolute disdain - but Betty’s complete lack of surprise - we didn’t find a single trace of any kind of recording equipment in our house._

_We searched under, behind, on top, and inside of everything in our room. After we searched the area outside our bedroom window, and even the fence between our house and Archie’s, Betty finally convinced me our efforts would be better spent trying to figure out who may have taken the photos in the first plac_ _e…_

  
  


“Are you as exhausted as I am?” Jughead grumbled as he dropped onto his side of the bed. He let out a groan and ran his hands over his face.

Betty sighed and laid down next to him. “I’m making a human right now; you tell me.”

Jughead snickered. “Yeah, well, I think clinging on to the wall for dear life trumps baby making. I nearly fell off that ladder trying to inspect the side of the house.”

Betty rolled her eyes. “So? I pulled out every single drawer in this room, went through every article of clothing we own - even though there’s no way someone could have recorded us from your sock drawer, by the way - then put everything all back in order again.” She shifted closer to Jughead. “Do you know how many S shirts you own? That was _definitely_ more tiring than climbing a ladder.”

Jughead laughed quietly. “You hate on the S shirts now, but I wouldn’t need so many if _someone_ wasn’t always ‘borrowing’ them.” His left hand trailed down Betty’s arm to rest at her wrist. She turned her hand up to take Jughead’s; their fingers interlaced and warmth spread through Jughead’s hand.

Betty moved closer to Jughead so she could lean her head against his shoulder. “I know all your dirty secrets, Juggie. You love seeing me in your S shirts.” Jughead snaked his arm under Betty’s back so he could pull her closer. He kissed the top of her head as she snuggled into him. 

They laid in silence for a while, and Jughead tried to focus on the feeling of Betty cuddled against him instead of the sickening worry that was cementing itself in his brain. He looked to the window that faced Archie’s room. The curtains were drawn - as they _always_ were when he and Betty were getting… _intimate_.

They’d never forgotten to close the curtains; Jughead was sure of it. Not even when they’d first started seeing each other at fifteen, and an egotistical, Neanderthal-like part of Jughead secretly hoped Archie would see them making out on Betty’s bed and get jealous. 

Although - as Jughead had recently learned - having your best friend lust after your girlfriend wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

When the curtains were closed, there was no way anyone could see into Betty and Jughead’s bedroom. Not unless the person was pressed up against it entirely, looking through the three inch gap between where the curtains hung out from the window frame and the glass itself - Jughead had tried it while investigating the wall and had almost fallen off his ladder. The only explanation as to how the photos from a month ago could exist would be if someone had very stealthily found the ladder in their yard, put it up against the wall, climbed up and held a camera (maybe from their phone?) at just the right angle that the gap allowed them to see into their room. Quietly, too - or Betty and Jughead would have noticed.

And if they’d done it once… who’s to say they wouldn’t do it again?

Jughead’s train of thought was interrupted as Betty quickly sat up and covered her mouth. On unsteady legs she rushed over to the bathroom and disappeared inside. Not even a second later Jughead could hear the sounds of her retching violently.

And suddenly Jughead was worried for an entirely different reason. 

He sat up as Betty walked back into the room, her eyes bloodshot and her cheeks pale. “Betty… you haven’t eaten all day. How are you still throwing up?”

Betty pulled out her hair elastic. Her hair cascaded down her shoulders as she sighed. “Not true. I ate toast for breakfast, and that didn’t even come back up straight away. Also…” she smiled ruefully. “Do prenatal vitamins count as food? Because I’m pretty sure those have stayed down pretty consistently.”

Jughead pushed his beanie off and brushed the stray hairs away from his forehead. “Are you sure all this throwing up is normal?”

Betty stretched her fingers out on one hand. “I think so. Polly said she felt sick a lot the first few months… and not just in the morning.”

“There’s feeling sick and then there’s barely keeping food down… and you’re not _in_ the first few months anymore, Betts.”

Betty shrugged. “I’m sure it’s fine, Juggie. I’m still getting the nutrients I need from the vitamins you got me. Juices and milkshakes seem to be alright too, as long as I take my time drinking them.” 

But Betty’s casual acceptance of her condition did nothing to stop Jughead from worrying about her. “Maybe you should see a doctor about it.”

“We did yesterday, remember? Dr Lennon said nausea is normal.” Betty picked up a notebook and pen from her desk and brought them over to the bed. “If you’re worried we can ask Dr Patel about it once I’ve talked myself into actually making an appointment with him.” 

Jughead frowned. He wanted to say more - or maybe drag her to the hospital - but he didn’t want to be overbearing, and instead decided to pay more attention to Betty’s health over the next few days.

Betty sat cross legged on the bed, facing Jughead, and flipped open her notebook. “So. Who do we think is most likely to have taped those photos to my locker?” She tapped her pen against her lips as she stared down at the page. 

Jughead considered her question for a moment. “It could have been anyone at the school.”

Betty sighed. “Maybe we should start smaller. Who definitely _didn’t_ do it?”

“Well, when do you think it happened? Nothing was there this morning when we went to see Ms Burble.”

Betty nodded. “Okay, so it had to have happened somewhere between the second period and the end of lunch.” 

Jughead frowned. “No… actually, it’s an even smaller timeframe than that, Betts. I walked past your locker to get to the rec room and it only had the snake from yesterday.” 

“So it happened during the lunch break today. Well… that narrows it down. It can’t have been Kevin or Cheryl, not that I’d suspect them in the first place. They were already waiting for me in the music room.”

“Well we can cross Toni off too, then, because I was with her for most of lunch.” Jughead ran his thumb over his lip. “Hmm, it wouldn’t have been Sweet Pea either, right? He was with you and Toni yesterday at lunch the first time it happened.”

Betty scribbled in her notebook. “Great, so we’ve ruled out four of our friends who neither of us suspected in the first place.” She sighed. “Well, we may as well rule out Archie, Veronica, Fangs and literally anyone else we hang out with.”

“Can’t be too trusting, Cooper. Maybe Archie is spying on us through _his_ window.” Jughead laughed sarcastically.

Betty gave him an annoyed look.

Jughead groaned and laid back against the pillows. “We’re smarter than this.”

Betty rubbed her eyes with her palms. “We’ve only just started seriously thinking about who could be doing this, it’s no wonder we haven’t got a clear list of suspects. Honestly… we’re just so distracted, Jug.” Betty was looking over her left shoulder at Archie’s window as she rubbed her lower abdomen. “Distracted… how can we possibly _not_ be distracted right now?” She looked down at her hand and seemed surprised at its ministrations.

Jughead sat up, and seeing the look of worry on her face, took her other hand. “We can figure this out, Betty. I know we can.” He looked down at the hand above her stomach. “But that sure is one hell of a distraction you have there.”

Betty smiled and looked up at him. “You’re not wrong, Juggie.” There was a hint of amusement in her voice.

Jughead couldn’t help the smile that grew on his face as he looked into her eyes. He watched as she focused back on the notebook and jotted her thoughts down. He slid closer to her to look over the notes she’d taken.

In the clear

_Mom_

_FP_

_Jellybean_

_Polly_

_Charles_

_Toni_

_Sweet Pea_

_Kevin_

_Cheryl_

_Veronica_

_Archie_

_Fangs_

_Josie_

_Munroe_

_Reggie_

Untrustworthy

_Mr Honey_

_Brittney_

_Ella_

_Lexi_

_Louis_

_Ethel??_

_Football players_

_Ex-Gargoyle Serpents_

“Mr Honey?” Jughead asked, surprised. “Do you suspect him?”

Betty tapped her pen against her lips. “I don’t _think_ he’s involved with anything that’s happened… but that doesn’t mean I trust him.” Betty shrugged. “I’m not going to rule him out just yet.”

Jughead scanned the list again. “Okay… I am fairly certain none of the Serpents were involved in this, even the ex-Gargoyles.” _Fairly certain_ wasn’t certain enough for either of them. “Jinx, Tonsils and Weasel always seemed pretty genuine to me… Old Deuteronomy and Termite can be a little sketchy at times, and they aren’t _just_ ex-Gargoyles. They’re also ex-Ghoulies.” Jughead pursed his lips. “Honestly, I don’t think either of them have the… _finesse_ to pull off something like this, though. But… _Ethel_? Really?”

Betty placed the notebook in front of her. “I doubt it. I saw her when I first walked into the rec room on Monday while someone was _probably_ taping those photos to my locker, so if it _was_ her she must have snuck out discreetly and done it extremely fast… but I’m including her in my list because she’s obsessed with you.”

Jughead frowned. “She’s not obsessed with me.” When Betty raised her eyebrows in response, Jughead continued. “She’s _not_! Okay, I’m not blind - I know she had a bit of a thing for me last year… but are we really going to call that obsession?”

Betty sighed. “At the Sisters of Quiet Mercy she had a whole vision board dedicated to the _Hellcaster_.” 

“She did?” An uncomfortable feeling developed in Jughead’s stomach. “That’s what she called me during G&G games.”

Betty picked up the notebook and scribbled out the question marks next to Ethel’s name. “Wasn’t the video that showed up at the Serpent Den a kind of G&G quest?” Betty met Jughead’s worried eyes. “Maybe it wasn’t as random a recording as we initially thought.”

Jughead tried to think logically. “Maybe… but around the time that was recorded Ethel was in hospital, wasn’t she? From that seizure she had at school?” 

“They don’t keep you in hospital for three weeks because of a seizure. I was sent home the next morning…” Betty noted, but her resolve was wavering.

“But surely her mom would have made her stay home just in case… she was having them a few times a day, right?”

“You’re probably right…” Betty bit her lip. “I’m still suspicious of her.”

Jughead nodded. “Okay, so… we leave her in the ‘don’t trust’ section of your list. Now, who are Brittney, Ella, Lexi and Louis?”

Betty circled the three girls’ names. “These girls are juniors and are all in the River Vixens. They’ve been hanging around my locker the past two days at the exact time I’ve examined the photos.” She paused, then tapped the first girl’s name with her pen. “Kevin was suspicious of Brittney.” 

“Actually…” Jughead mused. “I remember Brittney. She was hitting on me last week. Kevin threatened to tell Cheryl about it if she didn’t back off, which would risk Brittney losing her chance of being the next HBIC.

Betty had a devious look on her face. “Interesting… I’m going to highlight her as my main ‘locker’ suspect.” Betty drew a little star next to Brittney’s name. “And speaking of getting hit on…” she tapped Louis’ name. “Louis has been the most… _upfront_ about his attempts to get me to hook up with him.” 

Jughead frowned. “Who is this guy? His name sounds familiar…” 

Betty smirked. “He _should_ sound familiar to you, considering at Archie’s party you apparently threatened to ‘gutter stomp his head’ if he didn’t delete our sex tape off his phone.” 

A vague, drunk memory of the boy materialised in Jughead’s mind. “Oh wait… _yes_ I do remember him… Munroe dragged him out of Archie’s house that night. Hold on.” Jughead sat up straighter. “Remember that guy who gave you the Gargoyle King note at Junior Prom?” Betty stiffened and nodded. “Well, his name is Jerry, and I was able to figure out that he got it from Luna, who got it from _Louis_ , who got it from Ricky…” 

Betty looked back at the list. “So this isn’t the first suspicious interaction we’ve had with Louis…” 

“I’m wondering now how deep into G&G Louis was. I mean, maybe Ricky gave him the note for a reason… and if he was a hardcore player, could _Louis_ be the one who made the tape of us at Lover’s Lane?” Jughead sighed and rubbed the scar below his hairline. “I can’t believe how complicated this is getting.”

“I can.” Betty said mournfully. “There’s probably a lot more connections between these people that we aren’t even seeing. And there’s probably _other_ people involved that we don’t even know about.”

Jughead put a hand on her leg. “We’ll figure it out, Betts. I _know_ we will. We can, at the very least, start with Ethel, Brittney and Louis - maybe we can see how much they know about these videos and find out if any of them is responsible for the locker fiasco.”

Betty smiled half-heartedly and squeezed Jughead’s hand. “Maybe we need a ‘murder board’ for this… or more accurately, a s _ex tape_ board.”

Jughead couldn’t help the snicker. “The _Murder Board Dream Team_ returns.”

Betty’s smile was more genuine as she leaned in to peck Jughead on the lips. He leaned into the kiss for a moment before pulling away and looking towards the window. Stress was evident on his face, and Betty felt her heart sink further down her body. “Jug…” she whispered, deep concern in her voice.

His eyes stayed on the window. “Yeah?”

Betty put a hand on his cheek and gently turned his face away from the window and back to her. “Before college starts… let’s just,” she paused, “get away from here. From all this _craziness_.”

Jughead studied the nervous look on her face. “You mean… just up and leave Riverdale?”

Betty nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. “I’m sick of feeling like this. So _watched_ and _trapped_ … feeling like I’m letting _you_ down and letting _myself_ down. It’s like nowhere is safe.” Betty dropped her hands into her lap. The back of her hand brushed roughly against the pages of her notebook. “It’s starting to affect me a lot, and I can see how much it’s draining you, too.” Some of the tension in her shoulders left when she shuddered, but most remained. “So let’s just… leave. Not right away, and not even for long… but I think we could both do with at least a few days away from this to try and pretend we’re normal teenagers.” 

Jughead twirled a strand of Betty’s hair around his fingers as he considered her words. “A break from this place with _you_ as company does sound really nice.” Jughead could feel relief creeping in at the thought of spending some alone time with Betty away from prying eyes. Betty smiled genuinely as she entwined her fingers through one of Jughead’s hands, and rubbed her stomach with the other.

Then without warning - honestly, Jughead wondered if Betty’s mother had studied stealth ninja training in her youth - the door opened. “Elizabeth, are you in here?” Alice walked through the door confidently.

Betty jolted and abruptly removed the hand that was on her stomach. “Mom.” She sounded resigned. “Why don’t you ever knock? We could have been naked.”

If Jughead had been drinking something at that moment, he would have spit it out.

Alice rolled her eyes as she took a seat on the edge of the bed and faced them. “Oh _Elizabeth_ , please spare me the dramatics.” Alice crossed one leg over the other and leaned on her elbow. “Your principal called me to let me know what happened at school today.”

Betty and Jughead shared a look.

“ _He_ doesn’t seem to have developed a personality since I last spoke to him.” Alice shook her head and continued. “However, it might interest you to know he’s conducting his own investigation, apparently, to figure out who has been tormenting you both. An investigation I have _complete_ faith in.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

Betty sighed. “It doesn’t matter, Mom. Tomorrow is our last day at school. We can handle it.”

Alice studied the look on her daughter’s face. Betty may be putting on a brave, unaffected act, but Alice could see how much Betty was affected by the school bullying. “FP told me someone wrote _Serpent Slut_ on your locker.”

Jughead looked at Alice in confusion. “Did Honey leave that part out or something?”

Alice’s expression was difficult to read; Betty wondered why her mother was holding back her emotions. “Your principal told me about the photos, and the fact that apparently there are two giant black snakes drawn on your locker in permanent marker. He’s asking the janitor to try and find a way to have those removed tonight.”

_Sweet Pea strikes again_ , Jughead couldn’t help thinking, feeling grateful and marginally amused. 

“I wanted to ask how you’re both feeling about all this.” Alice said. She noted Betty’s bloodshot eyes and crestfallen facial expression and felt the worry for her child start to rear its ever-present head. “I’m worried about you, Betty. You too, Jug.”

Jughead successfully kept the surprise he felt off his face.

“I’m obviously upset about it, Mom.” Betty said flatly. Alice raised her eyebrows and looked at Jughead.

He wasn’t convinced he wanted to have this conversation with Betty’s mother, but she seemed genuinely concerned for their wellbeing, so he pushed the weirdness aside. “I’m just angry. And a little creeped out.” He said.

Alice nodded. “That’s understandable.” She sat up straighter and leaned on her hand instead. “Right now I’m furious about the way the two of you are being treated by your classmates. This is your last week of high school; it’s meant to be a fun experience for you both. I don’t want you to miss out on enjoying these moments because the world wants to shame you for doing the same thing everyone else does.”

After that statement, for his own sanity, Jughead developed temporary amnesia and pretended Alice wasn’t dating his _dad_.

Betty shrugged. “What are we supposed to do about it, Mom? When we walk through the hallways, people keep staring, or whispering, and loudly stating their opinions - it’s the same as when Dad first went to prison.” Betty looked down at the bedspread. “At least back then people were too scared to come up to me. Now I have random guys I’ve never talked to trying to get me to hook up with them. And girls are doing the same to Jughead.” _Although_ , Betty thought, _the girls throwing themselves at Jughead aren’t nearly as threatening as the boys I’ve encountered, like Louis._ She shook her head slightly. _Relax; it’s not a competition on who’s more uncomfortable._

The three of them stayed uncomfortably silent for a few moments, and Jughead felt anger towards their classmates raise its ugly head.

Alice was the first one to talk. “When I was in High School…” Alice began; she turned her eyes down towards an orange shape on their bedspread, “for reasons I’m not going to go into, a lot of my classmates used to call me the ‘Snake Charmer’ - a name I’m not proud of now, and one that used to upset me back then.” Alice paused, then looked back up to meet Betty’s eyes. “It used to upset me a lot, actually.”

Betty curiously watched her mom’s face, noting the way her eyes tightened. Jughead, meanwhile, had stiffened at the words _Snake Charmer_ and was immediately morbidly curious about what kind of Serpent Betty’s mother used to be. ‘Snake Charmer’ was what the Serpents used to call Penny Peabody, and the implications for what the words meant weren’t positive ones; at least, not to Jughead.

Maybe he could ask his dad about it later…

“And what I found…” Alice continued, her eyes looking past the pair of teens. “Was that when I gave people the reactions they wanted or expected, I was always the one who suffered. But if I acted indifferent to their remarks, or even embraced them, then the ‘excitement’ brought on by calling me that word just… disappeared.” She waved her hand. “Words can’t hurt you, Betty. Not unless you let them.” She put a hand on Betty’s knee, and rubbed it comfortingly.

Jughead was surprised by Alice’s soliloquy. Not just because she apparently was a lot more involved with the Serpents than he’d initially believed, but because her ideas of how to counteract teasing and name calling weren’t dissimilar to his own. It was why he’d started calling _himself_ ‘Jughead’ instead of Forsythe, after all. 

Betty searched her mother’s face. She seemed genuinely concerned, and the way she was opening up to Betty made the teen feel immensely guilty for being so secretive. But Betty’s expression remained unreadable. “I’m really sorry high school was rough for you, Mom.” She said, and before Alice could respond she continued. “And I appreciate what you’re trying to tell me, but I don’t know whether I can just ignore or _embrace_ what they’re saying.”

A mischievous glint appeared in Alice’s eyes. “Can’t you?”

….

Hours later, as Jughead sat on the edge of the bed watching Betty brush her hair out at the vanity, he couldn’t take his mind off the photos on Betty’s locker.

He spared a glance behind him. The window that faced Archie’s house was covered by the curtains, but Jughead knew that didn’t necessarily mean nobody could see into the bedroom. The new photos that had come to light were proof of that. 

One thought in particular kept eating away at his mind. It was all he could think about as he turned back to face Betty. She’d, however, become more relaxed over the course of the evening - Alice’s suggestion for how she could counteract the school bullying had given her renewed confidence that the last day of school would be, at the minimum, _okay_. 

Betty stood up from her chair and tucked it back under the vanity, then smiled as she walked over to him. He reached out for her and placed his hands on her hips as she straddled his lap. “So, Mr Jones.” She said in a low, sultry tone before she pecked his lips. Jughead instantly felt hot all over. “You have me all alone in here. Whatever shall we do?” She bit her lower lip and looked into his eyes, a teasing glint in her own.

He forced a smile onto his own face and moved his hands up her back to hold her closer and tried to push the negative thoughts away. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again, deeper this time. 

But try as he might (Betty’s hot tongue soon began swirling circles against his neck, which certainly made a convincing argument) Jughead just couldn’t focus on the moment. His mind couldn’t shake the feeling, the thoughts, the _worries_ that plagued him.

Betty pulled back to look at him. “You’re not really into this, are you?” She asked, her voice going soft.

“Into _this_? Always, Cooper.” Jughead’s arms moved lower down her back to encircle her waist. “I’m just overthinking, that’s all.” He leaned back into her and caught her lips again. 

Betty trailed her hands down his chest and to the hem of his shirt. She traced the skin above the waistband of his plaid pyjama pants, and felt his muscles tense beneath her fingers. In fact, his whole body seemed to be tense (except for the one part of his body that _needed_ to be). She pulled away again to look at his face. “Juggie…”

Jughead shook his head. “I’m _fine_ , Betty.”

Betty exhaled. “No, you’re not. You’re stiff and uncomfortable, and it’s been, like, _five days_ since we last…” She trailed off then disentangled herself from his lap and sat next to him on the bed. “What’s wrong? Is it the sex tape?” Her green eyes searched his face for clues.

“No. Yes. I… _ugh_.” Jughead threw himself backwards to lay on the bed. “It’s not the tape. Well, maybe it is a little bit.” He rubbed his eyes with both hands. “But the tapes we’ve seen were all recorded in Stonewall where Brett had the power. Except for the one from Junior year, but even that was filmed somewhere else. But those photos, Betty… the ones that were taped to your locker today. They were taken in our _bedroom_.” He moved his hands so he could look at her.

Betty nodded, her expression hardening. “We searched everywhere, Jug. There’s no way anyone is still watching us in here. And your dad locked the ladder up. We’re safe now.” She put a hand on his leg.

Jughead decided not to express his fear that there was nothing stopping anyone from bringing their own ladder with them if they were desperate enough to catch them in the act; that would be catastrophizing at its finest. “I know you’re right… but I can’t stop thinking about how those photos from our room are only from a month ago.” Jughead sat up and took her hand. “Betts, you were pregnant a month ago.” Betty stiffened as Jughead continued. “You’re carrying our _child_ and someone is making lewd images of us, and distributing them, and it makes me… _sick_ \- absolutely _disgusted_ \- to think someone’s involving our baby in anything like this, knowingly or not.”

Betty’s grip on his hand tightened. “Don’t go there, Jug. We can’t think like that.”

“I’m already _there_ Betty.” Jughead looked back at the window again. A mild sensation of panic rose up his throat, but he swallowed it down. “Someone is messing with us, and I know you think it’s Donna, but _why_? _How_? Maybe it was her that uploaded the first video from my laptop… but she can’t possibly have been the one to drop that G&G tape at the Serpent Den, could she? And if she did, then who did she get it from? And furthermore, how could she have gotten in and out of our school undetected to tape those screenshots to your locker?” He ran his free hand through his hair. “This doesn’t add up.” 

Betty contemplated his words. “I can’t answer most of that, but the why would be to torment us… and maybe get revenge. Assuming she followed through with walking away from the Baxter Brothers/Tracy True contract, then in her eyes I probably ruined her chances of being involved in a multi-million dollar book deal.” Betty shrugged, looking away. “But like you said… if it is her, that doesn’t explain the tape Sweet Pea gave you.”

Jughead nodded and sighed. “We will figure out who did this. Who used my stolen laptop to upload our sex tape, who recorded us at Lover’s Lane, who left the video at the Den, who taped the photos to your locker… and who spied on us in here and made us feel powerless in our own _house_.”

Betty moved closer to Jughead so she could hug him. “I believe you, Jughead.” As she took him in her arms, Betty noted how stiff he still was. “Are you… uncomfortable with sleeping in here?”

Jughead didn’t say anything right away, and a few moments of silence passed between them. “I’ll be okay. We’re being messed with by a perverted voyeur, not a serial killer.” 

Something about Jughead’s statement both unsettled Betty and gave her the beginnings of an idea, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was before Jughead pulled back and she saw the worried look on his face. 

It was a look that had recurred every night for weeks after he’d moved out of the bunker and back into their house. A tortured expression, hidden behind forced nonchalance as he double checked that all the windows and doors in the bottom floor of the house were locked every night; the same expression he’d had when he insisted that FP fix the cellar door, remembering Betty telling him years ago that it was broken; the same look he wore one evening not long after his return when he convinced Alice and FP that he and Betty should be allowed to close and lock their bedroom door at night now, because they were both _adults_ (though Betty had suspected this was actually due to his fear that the front door wouldn’t be enough to keep out the people that might want him or Betty dead).

Betty stood abruptly. “Come on. Get up.” She said gently, and Jughead obliged, his expression turning into one of confusion.

He looked her up and down. “What are you—?”

“Grab a pillow.” She interrupted him and tore their blanket off the bed. “We’re going to sleep on the couch downstairs tonight.” 

….

It was getting late by the time Archie left El Royale for the evening. He put Chad and Dexter in charge of locking up the building and hoped he wasn’t doing the wrong thing by leaving the place early. The threat of the Ghoulies causing trouble was still fresh on his mind, as was the haunted look on FP’s face as he crashed to the ground while helping Archie get rid of the burnt out dumpster at El Royale.

But Veronica wasn’t answering his calls, and when he’d shown up at the Pembrooke, Smithers had been reluctant to give him any information; he simply glanced over at him and, with a solemn expression, said: _“I’ll inform Miss Lodge of your visit.”_

Archie could have tried going up to her apartment, but he wasn’t about to ask _Hiram_ where his daughter was. 

It had taken actual bribery (he was now obligated to not only _perform_ at prom with Josie, but also spend his Thursday morning helping the River Vixens decorate the gym) for Archie to convince Cheryl to tell him where to find Veronica. So with an unfamiliar, nervous attitude, he started to head to the Five Seasons Hotel. 

Cherly sent him a text just as he arrived. _Don’t make me regret this. You do not want me on your bad side, Archiekins. xoxo._

Archie rolled his eyes. There was only one person’s bad side he didn’t want to be on…

Though it might have already been too late. 

The Maple Club’s door wasn’t hard to find; the glowing red leaf was a dead giveaway. He had to hand it to Penelope Blossom: for all her craziness, she knew how to set up a semi-illegal business. Archie took a breath and cracked his neck before he slowly turned the handle.

Soft and sultry jazz music spilled out into the hallway as Archie slowly opened the door. He quietly took a step inside and closed it behind him, then took in the room.

Veronica had sent him photos of the club while it was empty, but he’d never seen it in person - certainly not while it’s doors were open and patrons were seated at the high tables. The photos didn’t do it justice. He felt a wave of admiration for Veronica and Cheryl for how they’d managed to keep their Maple Rum business both afloat and discreet.

The vibe, for lack of a better word, was sexy. Archie felt incredibly out of place and underdressed in his Letterman jacket, clutching a small box in one hand. 

“My apologies sir, no high school students allowed on the premises.” Said a husky voice on his right. A blonde woman he didn’t recognise, draped in shimmery black lace, made her way over to him. “I’m sorry for the inconvenience—”

“Ah, don’t worry, it’s okay. I just need to speak to Veronica; is she still here?” Archie looked over the woman’s head, trying to see further into the room. 

The woman raised an eyebrow. “And who are you, exactly?”

Archie tried to keep his voice polite. “Her _boyfriend_.”

She smirked. “Miss Veronica is with a client right now. I’ll inform her you stopped by.”

Archie held in a groan, and decided his _least_ favourite word was ‘inform’. He tried to think of a counterargument when a new voice interrupted his thoughts. 

“It’s fine, Lacey. I’ll take it from here.” 

Archie’s head whipped around to see Veronica walking towards them. Her usual black dress attire was somehow more endearing, more _intimidating_ when surrounded by the low lighting and rich tapestries of the Maple Club. Archie almost wanted to gulp as he took her in. 

He watched Lacey walk away and join a red headed woman dressed in similar attire (and wearing some kind of creepy porcelain mask). These women were Veronica’s _employees_. For the _business_ she owned - which was one of _three_ businesses she owned.

He’d be a fool not to be in awe of her.

She crossed her arms over her chest and raised her perfectly groomed eyebrows. She stared at him with an unimpressed expression that bordered on a glare, before exhaling sharply. “Let’s go somewhere with a little more privacy.” She said determinedly.

She led him back out of the door to the club, and down the hallway into another hotel room. 

“How many hotel rooms do you and Cheryl own, exactly?” Archie’s voice cracked as she unlocked the door.

“We don’t _own_ these rooms. We have prepaid rent. But we _are_ looking at properties around town for a more permanent base of operations.” She pushed open the door and walked inside. She paused once she was inside the room and looked over her shoulder. “Are you coming, Archie?”

Archie’s stomach felt unsettled at her blunt use of his first name. He shuffled inside behind her and closed the door. “So, I, ah, I noticed your waitress - is she a waitress? - was wearing all black lace, and her name is _Lacey_.” Archie’s attempt at humour was almost cringeworthy, but since Veronica usually found him funny he held onto hope that it would be received well. “That’s ironic, right?”

Veronica couldn’t hide the affectionate amusement from her eyes. “She’s a _hostess_. And her name is actually Samantha, she just uses _Lacey_ for discretionary purposes.” Veronica walked over to the lounge and sat down. She patted the cushion beside her and Archie cautiously took a seat. “Most of my Maple Club hostesses have an alias. Some of our regular clients are… well lets just say, they have _less than savoury intentions._ ” Veronica crossed one leg over the knee of the other, and folded her hands on top. 

When she didn’t say anything else, Archie shifted uncomfortably. “Are you and Cheryl safe, working here?” 

Veronica scoffed. “Oh _please_ , we can handle a few drunk businessmen.” Her eyes shimmered. “Especially with Toni as our main security.”

“She’s certainly not someone I’d want to mess with.” Archie agreed.

Veronica crossed her hands over her chest. “So, do you actually have a purpose for this unsolicited visit? Because I’m _working_ , Archie… I’m doing mine _and_ Cheryl’s job tonight, actually, because she’s busy putting together the final details for Prom.” 

Archie tensed up. “I…” he paused. Trying to find the words to explain himself, to give her the information that he knew was only going to let her down, was… agonising in a way he couldn’t describe with words. There was a sharp shard of guilt piercing his chest; a _pain_ worse than anything he’d ever felt. How could he even begin to apologise and beg for her forgiveness when not even a single cell of his body felt deserving of her?

Veronica abruptly stood up. “If you’re not going to talk to me, then I’m not going to sit here wasting my time.” Her voice broke a little at the end, and Archie felt even worse.

“No, _wait.”_ He stood up and lightly gripped her arm. She looked down at his hand, but made no move to remove it. “Just… wait.” Archie swallowed. “I, ah… I have something for you.” He offered her the small box he’d been holding. 

Veronica eyed it suspiciously. “If you’re attempting to _buy_ my forgiveness, I’ll have you know that’s a tactic that _won’t_ win you any awards—”

“Please just open it.” 

Her expression hardened as she took the box from him. Her gaze flickered between Archie’s nervous facial expression and the mystery box a few times before she sighed and opened it. “Wait… Archie, why…?” Her expression turned to surprise as she took in the contents of the box. 

Archie looked directly into her eyes. “A really smart woman once told me that there’s no wrong that the right cupcake can’t fix.” Archie explained as Veronica set the box aside and held the cupcake infront of her. 

She met Archie’s eyes with significantly less animosity than he’d received the past few days. “Red Velvet, my favourite… where did you even get this? This isn’t from Pop’s.” She studied the cream cheese frosting, which even Archie had to admit looked a lot fancier than factory-decorated cupcakes from the grocery store. 

Archie rubbed the back of his neck. “There’s this tattoo parlour on the South Side. The owner’s wife is really into baking and she sells them at the counter… the kids always tell me about her cupcakes. Eddy gives them an eleven out of ten.” 

Veronica smiled as she turned the cupcake around in her hand delicately and inspected the cream. “She sprinkled shaved chocolate on top… if it tastes even half as good as it looks, I can understand the hype.” Veronica settled the cupcake back into its box gently and sighed. “I’m not used to being on the receiving end of apology cupcakes…”

Archie used the opportunity to sit back down on the couch. “I know. But if anyone deserves an endless supply of cupcakes, it’s you, Ronnie.” He tried to go for a genuine smile, but was worried he may just look stressed.

Veronica studied him for a moment before sitting down next to him again. “The fact that you’re even bringing me apology cupcakes tells me you must have done something for which you feel _incredibly_ guilty.” Veronica looked down at the space between them on the couch. “Or that you’re trying to butter me up.”

Archie risked sliding slightly closer to her. “Or… maybe a little of both?” He said cautiously. His heart was pounding in his chest.

Veronica looked up at him. “Why can’t you just be honest with me?” She practically whispered. “I thought we were past this childish faze of miscommunication.”

“We were… we _are_ , Ronnie. I just… it’s just…” Archie swallowed back the fear that threatened to swallow _him_. “I’m scared…”

Maybe she was feeling sympathetic - or maybe she was just completely whipped - but the look of vulnerability on Archie’s face melted some of the frosty frustration Veronica felt towards him. “What are you scared of?” She reached out to take his hand. 

Guilt welled up inside him. “Of losing you.”

“Archie…” her voice was thick with emotion and her eyes prickled with tears. “I know things have been tense between us lately…” 

They both thought of the times they’d fought over the past two months; fights that usually started because Veronica felt that Archie wasn’t being sensitive _enough_ about her dad’s ‘mystery’ medical condition. But truthfully, Archie was _desperately_ trying to care about the declining health of his girlfriend’s father - all while he processed his anger towards the man who’d not only ruined _his_ life and future, but who’d been blocking Archie’s efforts to give the homeless and disadvantaged South Side kids a place to keep them off the streets. 

Their biggest fight yet had happened only two weeks ago: Archie had made an attempt to be friendly towards her father at a Lodge family dinner, despite the blatantly obvious digs Hiram was making towards the South Side and FP Jones. It had all fallen apart when Hiram said: _“The teen miscreants on the South Side are a nuisance that need to be dealt with if Riverdale has any hope of moving forward.”_

Veronica had kicked Archie under the table when he’d said: _“I thought the Mayor of Riverdale would be putting more effort into helping the children in his town’s low socioeconomic areas, instead of criticising their existence...”_

(Archie thought he’d deserved at least _some_ credit for using the term ‘low socioeconomic’ correctly, but only Jughead was impressed when he’d told him and Reggie about the conversation the next day).

Later, when they were alone, Archie had made the mistake of accusing Veronica of excusing Hiram’s crappy behaviour because he was sick…

… and that comment hadn’t gone over well with Veronica.

Still, they had recovered, and the make-up sex was as mind blowing as always… but Archie could see that the tender threads of their relationship were ready to snap, and he didn’t want _Hiram Lodge_ to be the reason he lost yet another part of his life. 

Although, if he _did_ lose Veronica now, her father would probably be the least of their problems.

Probably.

“But,” Veronica continued, bringing Archie back to the present moment, “You’re not going to lose _me_. Whatever it is you’ve done that’s making you act like… like a different person… we can get through it together, okay?” She drew him closer. “Please, I can’t lose you as well…”

Archie clamped his teeth shut to try and stop the tears that threatened to start flowing. 

“Archie… why were you and Jughead fighting at your house?” Her eyes searched his face. “If it’s really about me and Jughead kissing in sophomore year… I _am_ sorry for doing that.”

Archie quickly shook his head. “No, Ronnie, you didn’t do _anything_ to cause that fight. Yes, I was upset about it at the time, but I’m not anymore. I only brought up the kiss because… I was drunk and pissed off at something Jughead said. And yeah, he threw the first punch, but Ronnie, _I_ started that fight. I baited him by making a _disgusting_ comment about Betty because I _wanted_ him to hit me… because it’s what I deserved.”

Shock and confusion swam in Veronica’s deep brown eyes. “Archie…” she reached up to stroke his face but he pulled back from her slightly.

“Ronnie, I _want_ to tell you what really happened… but I also never want you to find out. Because I don’t even really know why I did it. You’re going to hate me for it, and I regret it _so_ much. I wish I’d just listened to you and tried therapy back in April because maybe something could have been different.” One tear escaped Archie’s cheek.

Veronica’s voice was barely above a whisper as she said: “I could never hate you, Archiekins.” Archie’s heart jolted at hearing the ridiculous nickname that he’d grown to love. Veronica’s own eyes shone with unshed tears, and the guilt plagued his mind.

Archie let out a humourless laugh. “You have so much faith in me I don’t deserve.” 

“Stop _saying_ things like that, Archie.” She gripped the sides of his arms. “You keep putting yourself down and it’s not healthy. You’re a great person, you deserve the world.”

Archie couldn’t understand the anger he felt at her words. “Would a _great person_ ask his girlfriend's best friend to hide something from her?”

Veronica was silent for so long that some of Archie’s angry guilt faded away, and panic moved in its place. Her expression hardened as she looked up at him. “It hurts to have my suspicions about Betty confirmed; I knew she was hiding something about you. But it hurts more that you’d share your feelings with her and not me - and I don’t care how jealous and possessive that sounds.”

Archie was struck again with awe over her fierce strength.

“I’ve had a couple of my friends say they don’t want to get in the middle of our relationship, and other friends deflecting and telling me that I need to ask you what it is you’re hiding.” She took a deep breath. “It makes me think it must be something pretty serious.”

Archie nodded, his face falling. “It _is_ serious, Ronnie. At least, it is to me. But… I didn’t ask anyone else to hide it from you. They only found out on Saturday night, but _that_ thing is what the fight with Jughead was about. Betty… she knows because she’s involved with it, and I begged her not to tell you - and she only agreed so long as I promised to tell you myself before you leave for college.”

Archie couldn’t read Veronica’s stoic expression as she listened to his explanation. She stared into his eyes, watching the wild storm of emotions flicker over his face. They were honestly a nice change to the emptiness she’d seen so much lately. “Am I going to break up with you over it?” Veronica finally asked, her expression hardening. 

A lump was forming in Archie’s throat. “I think so. Maybe… maybe not if you hear it from me first. But even then…” he cleared his throat, and forced himself to say: “Yes, I think you will.”

Veronica looked away, and Archie noted the tears welling up in her eyes. “Then don’t tell me tonight.” Her voice was low and raspy. “I don’t want us to spend what’s meant to be some of our best high school moments hating each other. I want to focus on how happy we are to be graduating and going to Senior Prom… not with us depressed and mad at each other.”

Archie felt a weird mix of relief and guilt when he turned his face towards the wall. “Okay.” 

_Archie held Veronica in his arms and prayed to the God he hoped was real that Veronica wouldn’t find out he kissed Betty before he told her himself._

_But Archie should have known that the things we hide in Riverdale have a tendency to show up at the most inconvenient times…_

…..

  
  


_The last day of school was: Great. Fun. Fantastic. Emotional. Awesome. Unreal. Foreboding. Unbelievable._

_Pick an adjective and it was probably a true statement for most of the students at Riverdale High._

_For me, it felt like we were heading into an entirely different time zone, moving to another country, meeting a new sibling, and kissing a girl for the first time - all wrapped into one confusing mess of feelings._

_At the sound of that bell at 3pm on Wednesday the 17th of June, 2020, my childhood was officially over._

_Truthfully, I often felt like my childhood had been in a constant downward spiral towards ‘over’ since I was eight years old and dragging my tiny sister from the house when Dad and Mom got into yet another screaming argument._

_It catapulted further into ‘over’ when I was forced behind the bars of Riverdale Juvenile Delinquent Centre at the tender age of ten. Still I was falling as I hid my tears from the other homeless vagrants at the docks on the South Side when I was fifteen. And at seventeen, I almost didn’t believe I had any childhood left to live as I held Betty’s face away from the sight of her serial killer father’s bloodied and exploded skull._

_But somehow, despite the luminous darkness that spread through the shiny light of childhood, it was walking through the haunted corridors of Riverdale High School for the final time as a student that finally cemented the truth into my head._

_This is it._

_High School is over._

_I’m not a kid anymore._

  
  


Betty took her mother’s advice and walked into school with her head held high, her hand grasping Jughead’s, and her South Side Serpent jacket clinging to her body like a second skin.

“The Serpent _Slut_ has arrived, I see.” Sweet Pea joked as the pair approached him in the hallway. “Honestly, Coop. I’m going to get cramps in my hands if that damn locker of yours doesn’t stay clean today.”

Betty couldn’t help the laugh that escaped, nor the smile that came over her face. She pulled down the hem of her lacey black singlet (that even Jughead had to admit was toeing the line between _shirt_ and _lingerie_ , and looked suspiciously like the one he'd last seen her wearing on a pole at the Whyte Wyrm) and kept smiling defiantly for the rest of the day.

People at the school still stared at her, and whispered - but there was a clear difference in the looks she received. Now, her classmates seemed to be taking steps _away_ from her, rather than towards her. They were steering clear, fearful of the way she may respond to their teasing or inappropriate remarks. Nobody threatened her, or hit on her, or made her feel needlessly uncomfortable.

And she felt _empowered_.

Veronica - who’d been notably absent from their table the past few days - joined them in the cafeteria at lunch, and even complimented Betty on how “badass” she looked in her jeans and leather jacket. Kevin wholeheartedly agreed with her: “It’s like you’re the reincarnation of Olivia Newton-John at the end of Grease!”

Jughead himself thought she looked _incredibly_ hot and took a moment to reflect on how lucky he was to have Betty Cooper as his girlfriend. But once their friends' attention had moved on, he leaned in to Betty’s ear and whispered: “I think you’re just as badass in your pastel mini skirts and floral print dresses.”

The resulting smile she gifted him with gave him jitters in his chest.

Veronica and Archie kept up a long-lasting amount of PDA for most of the school day that spilled into the afternoon. When the final bell rang, as everyone cheered, the two launched themselves at each other and kissed so passionately that even Mr Honey blushed.

Jughead wondered how much grovelling Archie had to do to get back in Veronica’s good graces. Betty thought Veronica was overcompensating her affection to distract herself from the truth.

They capped off their final school day with a trip to Pop’s. It seemed like the majority of the seniors had the same idea, so the diner was loud and bustling with activity; friends were hugging with happy tears in their eyes and acquaintances were exchanging last-minute contact info.

Jughead found himself wedged between Reggie and Betty in a booth across from their friends. Kevin raised his eyebrows at Betty and gave her a look of horror as Veronica and Archie made out next to him.

When the very _open_ affection continued between Veronica and Archie, Reggie remarked to the pair: “If you guys are going to start tearing each other’s clothes off you could just go downstairs - you know, to the _empty_ bar Veronica owns?” 

He was wholly ignored, and Jughead couldn’t blame Reggie for the annoyed look on his face - after all, the pair had been lip-locked for more than five minutes.

Reggie shook his head and turned in his seat to face Jughead. “I can’t believe _you’re_ the one with a sex tape out.”

In spite of himself, Jughead let out an incredulous laugh. He watched the way Archie pulled back from Veronica’s mouth and played with the strands of her hair, and tried not to cringe as she stared at him adoringly - but even through the public courting display, Jughead could still see the hysterical look in Archie’s eyes, and the way Veronica clung to him as though he’d disappear if she didn’t hold on tightly.

At one point, Archie met Jughead’s eyes and smiled, and Jughead instinctively gave him a ‘sup’ nod - but then suddenly remembered he was meant to be _mad_ at Archie for kissing Betty. For trying to get his pregnant girlfriend to _cheat_ on him. Jughead looked away and focused instead on the joyous expression on Pop’s face as he wiped down the counter.

_I’m still meant to be mad at Archie,_ mused Jughead _, so why do I just feel sadness?_

Betty shifted on the other side of Jughead as she craned her neck to watch somebody new walking in through the door. 

Kevin turned around from across her, “What are you looking at - _oh_.”

Polly Cooper had walked inside, strolling forward in a hunched over position. It was only after she’d made her way further into the diner after noticeably spotting Betty that Jughead realised why: hanging off each of her hands was a twin, both of whom were excitedly strutting forward as their mother struggled to keep up.

“Aunty Betty finisheded school!” Juniper announced excitedly as they arrived at the group’s table. 

Polly smiled and opened her lips to speak, but before she could say anything Dagwood enthusiastically cut her off. “Aunty Betty doesn’t go to school _forever_!” He dropped Polly’s hand and hurriedly climbed up Reggie’s legs, then stumbled over Jughead’s lap to launch himself into Betty’s arms. 

“Jeez Daggy,” Betty laughed as she brushed a lock of red hair off of Dagwood’s forehead. “Thank you for being so happy for me.”

“ _Dagwood_ , you can’t just climb on top of everyone.” Polly chastisised him with a mixture of distress and amusement. Juniper wrapped her arms around Polly’s leg, and Polly stiffened and looked down at her daughter. She slowly smiled and patted the top of Juniper’s head, a flicker of emotion crossing her eyes. 

Reggie had also been studying the newcomers, but probably not in the same way Jughead was. “ _Polly_ Cooper.” He said, and Jughead noted the flirtatious emphasis on the girl’s name. “ _Damn_ , girl.” Reggie continued, looking Polly up and down; his eyes blatantly lingered on the curve of her hips in her jeans. “No wonder I have Mommy issues.”

Kevin, Jughead and Archie all simultaneously groaned. Veronica merely rolled her eyes. “My _God_ Reginald, could you be any more of a douche?” She shook her head. “I’m so sorry, Polly. Reggie seems to have forgotten he normally possesses the power of _social skills.”_

Jughead wondered if anyone else noticed the annoyed look on Reggie’s face.

Rather than being turned off, Polly merely raised her eyebrows and smirked. “Not to worry, Veronica. Reggie’s always been one to notice a good thing when it’s standing in front of him.” Her eyes flickered up and down Reggie’s body, and Jughead wondered if he imagined the gulp he heard coming from beside him.

Kevin just looked between Polly and Reggie with wide eyes. 

“Betty, how does it feel to be finished with school?” Polly asked.

“I’m _so_ relieved, Pol. I’m finally free to start focusing on the future…” The sisters began an animated conversation; Kevin and Reggie focused on them to avoid the ‘Varchie Love Fest’ that resumed with enthusiasm.

Jughead turned towards Betty and watched as Dagwood settled himself into her lap. Dagwood looked up at his aunt, then slowly picked up one of the chilli cheese fries she’d barely touched. He cheerfully succeeded in his attempt at sneaking food and munched on the fry. For a moment, Jughead was floored by the realisation that soon _this_ would be their lives - the two of them sitting in a booth at Pop’s, hopefully with their friends; a toddler on one of their laps. 

Jughead watched as Betty absentmindedly trailed her fingers through Dagwood’s hair, or readjusted him if he got too close to slipping off her lap, or picked up a fry for him when he struggled to pull it out of the pile of cheese. She made it look easy, as though every movement came naturally to her. Dagwood seemed safe and comfortable in her hands.

The scene warmed Jughead, and he couldn’t help but smile as he watched.

“Mommy.” Juniper tugged on Polly’s hand, loudly interrupting her mother. “Where Aunty Cheryl?”

Polly turned her head from side to side in search of the notorious Blossom woman. “I’m sure she’s around here somewhere, Juni. Her car’s out the front.” She crouched down in front of the toddler. “Do you want to help me look for her?” 

Juniper nodded and started to pull her mother away from the table. Polly was about to ask Dagwood to come out from the booth when Betty piped up, “I can watch Daggy for you Pol?” 

Polly nodded gratefully and let Juniper drag her to the other side of Pop’s. The little girl was radiating excited energy, and Jughead found himself smiling as he watched the two Cooper girls walking away. From behind Polly looked so much like Betty that Jughead was again struck by the thought that soon it _would_ be Betty holding their child’s hand, being led through a maze of people.

Polly had barely walked out of ear shot when Reggie turned to face Betty and Jughead. “Hey, Betts, is your sister seeing anyone?”

Jughead shivered and looked at Betty, who appeared to be trying to think of a polite way of saying ‘please stay the hell away from my recovering sister’. Her friends beat her to it.

“ _Dude_ ,” Archie said disapprovingly. “She _just_ got out of a mental hospital.”

“So?” Reggie responded, appearing entirely unconcerned. 

Veronica looked at him incredulously. “ _And_ she has kids.” 

Reggie shrugged. “What, are single moms not allowed to go out these days?” Reggie seemed genuine, but Jughead couldn’t help the way he questioned Reggie’s morals. _Surely he knows that Polly just went through mental health treatment…_ Jughead thought, _he shouldn’t be trying to get her out of her panties so soon._

“That’s not the point - oh _forget_ it.” Veronica shook her head and focused back on Archie. 

Kevin leaned forward, a look of disdain on his face. “Can you _please_ just keep your dick away from Betty’s sister while she readjusts to regular society?”

Reggie put his hands up. “What do you people have against milfs?” 

“For God’s sake, Reggie.”

….

  
  


“Boy, did you forget you’re grounded again?” Were the first words out of FP’s mouth as Jughead and Betty returned home for the evening. He didn’t sound angry, merely curious as he walked out of the kitchen to lean against the lounge room wall and eye his son.

“Ahh…” Jughead laughed nervously. “Kind of, yeah…” Betty squeezed his hand and nodded to FP before making her way up the stairs at a brisk pace. Jughead tried not to dwell on the thought that she was probably on her way to throw up the five cheese fries she’d eaten at Pop’s. “I’m sorry Dad, I got caught up in the joys of my ending childhood.”

Jughead expected another long lecture, but FP merely waved a hand dismissively and made his way back to the kitchen. “Don’t worry too much about it, Jug. I think my point was made. If you promise not to drink any spiked punch while you’re at prom, I’ll let you off the hook early.”

“Wow, a whole two days off my five day sentence?” Jughead said jokingly. “Deal.”

FP chuckled and shook his head. All things considered, Jughead felt that his first experience being grounded wasn’t too bad. 

Jughead followed his dad into the kitchen and opened the fridge to search for orange juice. _Bless Alice for always keeping this thing stocked,_ he thought as he pulled out a fresh bottle. He was halfway through cracking open the lid when FP spoke:

“Jug, is Betty doing okay?” 

Jughead tried to keep his expression neutral as he made his way to the cupboard to pull out two glasses. “Doing okay with having our personal lives violated and exposed, or in general?”

FP added sugar to a mug and turned on the coffee machine. “I mean is she doing okay health-wise.”

Jughead kept his eyes on the juice bottle. “Why wouldn’t she be?” He poured a glass for Betty and himself and focused on the swirling orange liquid.

“Alice has noticed a few things. So have I.” FP pursed his lips and crossed his arms over his chest. “Betty’s mom just wants to help her, Jughead. Keep that in mind.” He turned away and started fiddling with the coffee pot. 

It wasn’t often Jughead was lost for words, but he couldn’t muster up a retort. And what was the point of arguing, really? Betty did look sick; run-down and ready to pass out at all times - even _Jughead_ was worried, so he couldn’t exactly blame Alice and FP for noticing something was up with her. 

But what could Jughead do? It wasn’t like he could just outright say: _Oh, don’t worry Dad, Betty’s not sick cause she’s dying or anything. She’s just pregnant! You’re going to be a grandpa soon, so no need to stress. Feel free to tell Alice, I’m sure she’d love this._

Yeah, right. 

Jughead just drank his juice and remained silent.

…

_The day of prom was uneventful for most of the males of Riverdale High. Archie was the only exception: our resident Red Paladin was stuck in a whirlwind of set-up activities with Cheryl Blossom and her River Vixen minions._

_But for the beautiful ladies of Riverdale, the day began hours earlier than the 6pm event start time._

_Betty, for example, had left the house before lunchtime to get ready with Cheryl, Toni and Veronica._

“Umm… hey Betty?” Polly entered Cheryl’s bedroom and smiled at the group of girls all helping each other with their hair and makeup.

“What’s up Pol?” Betty asked, not looking up from the handheld mirror in front of her as she tried to blend her eyeshadow.

Polly smirked and held her phone up. “Any chance you know why Reggie Mantle just asked me to be his Prom date?”

_“He what?!”_ Veronica gasped, a horrified look on her face. “Oh my God, he’s a sea urchin. I’m so sorry.” 

Polly shrugged. “I kind of admire the effort. Listen to this: _‘Please come Polly, I need a milf next to me tonight’_ \- he even used the number 2 instead of ‘t.o.’ in tonight.” She laughed as Toni shuddered. “I don’t think anyone has ever hit on me this openly before. It’s kind of funny.”

Veronica’s eyes narrowed. “I can tell him to leave you alone if you want.” 

But Polly just shook her head. “Nah, it’s all good. Honestly, I’d consider going with him if I didn’t have other responsibilities. And if I didn’t just get out of a psych ward.” She said wistfully. “I’ve never actually been to a prom.”

Betty experienced a sinking feeling when she realised why Polly didn’t go to her Junior or Senior Proms. _Because she gave birth in a cult and didn’t go back to high school…_ Betty felt a little bad for her sister. Her life would have been so different without the twins… 

A selfish part of Betty hoped she’d never have to give up her own education when the baby came. And a slither of fear welled up in her as she considered the fact that maybe she would _want_ to give her education up to raise her baby… _Surely_ _not,_ Betty thought and shivered.

Polly laughed as her phone dinged three more times. “Wow, he’s _really_ pushing me to come with him.”

Cheryl toyed with her tube of lipstick and mulled an idea over in her head. She eventually piped up: “I mean… why _not_ come, Pollykins?”

“What?” Polly and Betty said at the same time.

Cheryl absentmindedly began looking through her makeup drawer. “Well, aside from yesterday you’ve been cooped up in Thistlehouse all week. Surely getting out of the house, and maybe seeing some old friends would be good for you?”

“She’s not meant to be overexerting herself.” Betty said quietly, a touch of anxiety creeping in.

Cheryl rolled her eyes. “It’s _Prom_ , cousin. Not _Ninja Warriors_.” 

Polly raised her eyebrows. “I can’t _go_ , Cher. My partying days are well over. Besides… who would watch the twins?”

“Go where?” Said a new voice, and Betty looked up to see her mother in the doorway.

Polly and Betty exchanged nervous glances. 

“ _Perfect_ timing!” Cheryl said cheerfully.

…. 

_The students banned from Prom all executed ‘The Plan’ well. Betty left the window of the Blue and Gold open, and those who had managed to stay in her good graces knew they were welcome to sneak in through the window and use the hallway to find the discreetly unlocked side-entrance to the gym._

_Mr Honey, who was determined to keep everyone in order, suspected nothing as I entered the front of the school gym alone, pocketing the keys of Betty’s station wagon._

_And for all his intentions to keep out the ‘unsavoury’ students, Mr Honey made his own job difficult by allowing Cheryl Blossom to plan our Senior Prom with a theme specifically dedicated to the fine art of deception:_

_“Masquerade Mystery”_

  
  


He wasn’t one for grand entrances to social events, but out of sheer principle Jughead decided he would have preferred to enter his Senior Prom by climbing through the window of the Blue and Gold with Betty. 

However, Cheryl made the point that someone needed to be going through the front entrance at the same time they snuck in to distract Mr Honey. So Jughead, Sweet Pea, Reggie (with a slightly-stunned Polly in tow), Archie and Josie all strolled inside at a leisurely pace over a 30 minute period in order to give their friends the time to sneak in undetected. 

Mr Honey eyed Jughead suspiciously as he entered the gym, but the poor deceived principal couldn’t see the triumphant glint in his student’s eyes as he made his way through the doors and across the dance floor.

Jughead lingered around the back door, blending in as he often did to the background as he watched excited girls showing off their overpriced dresses to their friends. His gaze wandered over to the food table, where one of the boys from the Wrestling Team (he thought it was anyway; it was hard to tell exactly who was behind the Zorro-style mask) indeed spiked the punch (just as FP had predicted). 

He’d have to give Betty the heads up not to drink it… 

As if on queue, the side-door opened and a blonde ethereal goddess discreetly stepped inside the gym. He knew it was Betty even with her eyes covered by a butterfly mask. 

Her dress was a colour that was not quite grey and not quite purple - a flowy and mysterious mix of the two. Little material butterflies danced along the thick straps along her shoulders, across her waist and down the sides of her dress, making her look like a forest queen. She was showing a _lot_ more cleavage than Jughead was used to seeing from Betty, but rather than looking trashy it just made her look like the stunning young woman she was growing into.

Her eyes flickered around the room for a moment and then landed on his. She smiled wide as she moved to join him. 

Jughead was the first to speak. “You look… _so_ beautiful, Betty.” 

She kissed him on the cheek and slid her hands over his arms. “So do you.” She said, the grin in her voice evident. 

He let out a laugh. “It’s the new suspenders.” He tugged on the left one. “They really bring out the black in my dress-shirt.”

Betty started giggling and pulled him away from the door and into the crowd of their classmates. All the while, three more girls were nonchalantly sneaking through the door Betty had just walked through.

Veronica was the first one of them to speak. “Do you think Honey saw us?” She adjusted her deep blue silk mask and scanned the awaiting students in search of Archie.

Cheryl slid the door closed once Toni had entered the gym. “Honestly, I don’t think I even care anymore. What’s he going to do, drag us outside? Call our _parents_? Puh- _lease_. Besides, hopefully your red-haired Tom Cruise pulled off the _Mission Impossible_ moment we all needed and kept Honey busy at the entrance.”

Toni shook her head. “Babe, we just helped half our cheer squad crawl through a tiny window in tight dresses and high heels. If anyone has had a _Mission Impossible_ moment tonight, it was us.”

Cheryl flicked her hair back from her shoulders; her red sequinned dress shimmered with the movement. “Yet another moment I’m so grateful to our principal for.”

“Guys, I see Archie. We’ll catch up later!” Veronica said as she quickly moved away from the other girls.

However, she was not quick enough in getting away before she heard Cheryl say to Toni: “That fiend had better tell her _ASAP_ before I tell her for him.” 

Veronica diverted her trek to Archie and discreetly moved over to the nearest table and poured herself a cup of punch. She strained her ears for Toni’s response.

“... we need to stay the hell out of this. It’s not our relationship.” Toni’s voice wavered, however, and Veronica began to suspect she was losing her resolve.

“If _you’d_ done something like that I’d want to know. I can’t lie to Veronica about this, TT.”

“Babe don’t say anything, it’s cruel for her to find out at Senior Prom…”

_Stop listening,_ Veronica told herself. _You don’t want to overhear it from someone else._ But her heart was racing out of her chest and into her throat. She was so close to finding out what Archie was hiding, if Toni would just stop preventing Cheryl from saying whatever it was—

“Ronnie, you look amazing tonight.” 

Veronica jumped and spun around to face Archie. He wore a blue bow tie to match her dress, but Veronica couldn’t bring herself to smile at it. _What are you hiding?!_ She wanted to scream at him, but she couldn’t find her voice. 

“Warden Honey is still lurking at the front entrance like a creep…” Archie’s eyes lost some of their twinkle. “Ahh… are you alright?” 

Veronica shook her head. “Yes! Of course. Sorry. You just snuck up on me.” She squared her shoulders and forced a smile onto her face. “Let’s go dance!”

….

The closest Mr Honey came to catching the Prom crashers was when he’d mistakenly believed Reggie had brought Betty with him as a date. 

“Nice try Miss Cooper.” He said disapprovingly. “Very deceptive. But walking in without Jughead isn’t going to work.” His eyes had that beady little glimmer of perpetual anger that seemed to radiate his entire being. 

Polly - who had borrowed one of Cheryl’s old emerald green formal dresses - remained neutral. “Excuse me?”

Mr Honey’s expression became angrier. “Did you think I’d forgotten suspending you and banning you from Prom? You’re lucky I’m letting you walk at graduation.”

Reggie couldn’t hide the grin from his face. “Mr Honey, all due respect, but my date doesn’t go to this school.”

A vein was pulsing in Mr Honey’s forehead. “All due _respect_ Mr Mantle, but a man with respect would remove their mask and continue this conversation face to face.”

Polly didn’t know much about this teacher other than that he’d banned almost a third of the Senior class from Prom (only some of which were justified). So, she almost pitied him as the pair took their masks off and revealed that Mr Honey had accosted the wrong ‘Miss Cooper’. 

Mr Honey’s red face paled as he scanned Polly’s face. “What is the meaning of this, Reggie?” The growl in his voice remained even as the anger turned to confusion.

Reggie shrugged. “This is my Prom date, Polly Cooper. I have our tickets right here. _All due respect,_ Mr Honey, but I don’t understand what the problem is.” 

Polly resisted the urge to laugh at Reggie’s poor attempt at keeping his face straight. Reggie’s mirth would have been visible even if Mr Honey closed his eyes.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr Honey. Betty _, my sister,_ has told me so much about you.” Polly said politely. 

The redness was returning to Mr Honey’s face. Reggie expected him to start throwing punches, or even just begin yelling - but Mr Honey merely took the tickets from Reggie’s outstretched hands and shoved them into the box on his desk. “Have a good night.” He said gruffly, then turned his face towards the students standing behind them.

With some disbelief, Polly followed Reggie through the gym doors.

“Amazing.” Reggie laughed as he and Polly made it inside. 

Polly didn’t answer immediately as she was busy admiring the floral displays hanging from the ceiling. “Getting one up on your annoying teacher?” She pointed upwards. “Or these beautiful decorations.”

“I see flowers all the time, Cooper. But seeing Mr Honey lose his cool? _That’s_ rare. I’m honoured to have shared it with you.” He said, and then laughed to himself again.

Polly smiled as she linked her arm through Reggie’s. “I’m glad I could help. So, is _that_ why you were so keen to get me to come with you tonight?”

Reggie stood up straighter and placed a hand over hers. “What? No way, that was just a _bonus_.” He looked down at her shyly. “Honestly, I really didn’t want to come alone to my senior Prom.” His eyes gained their trademark cheekiness as he continued. “And when I realised the hottest girl in school was back in Riverdale, I wasn’t about to wait around for someone else to snatch you up as their date.”

Polly giggled. The sound sent a thrill through Reggie’s chest. “It’s sweet that you think boys would be lining up outside my door. Didn’t you get the memo, Reg? I’m a _Crazy Cooper._ You’re probably going to catch some kind of violent mental illness just by standing next to me. Or worse!” She lowered her voice and kept her eyes on Reggie’s. “End up with a _baby_.”

“Shit, is that contagious now?” Reggie widened his eyes in mock surprise.

Polly laughed. “Apparently.” She shook her head and nodded towards the dance floor. “Come on Mantle, how about you make this night worth my while?” 

Reggie gave her a sly smile. “My pleasure.” 

_The night continued on as Proms do: with its teenaged patrons engaging in the social norms of both friendly and flirtatious dancing, and drinking punch that was ‘definitely not’ spiked. The boys seemed to alternate between playfully messing with each other, and pretending to be well-behaved men to impress their dates. The girls admired their friends’ outfits, and tried to catch the eyes of any potential suitors; a difficult mission, considering everyone had their faces covered._

_Looking around at all of the decorations, the music, and the food, I found it ironic and cruel that Cheryl and the rest of the cheerleaders were forced to get up at the crack of dawn to decorate the gym for an event they were all banned from. I almost felt bad for the few cheerleaders who tried to walk in through the front entrance and were loudly stopped by Mr Honey - of course, they could have just snuck in through the Blue and Gold office had they been nicer to Betty that week._

_But what’s Prom without a little drama?_

_The best thing about Prom was how irrelevant mine and Betty’s relationship was to the rest of my classmates. After a week of intense scrutiny, it was nice to be able to relax and blend into the crowd as we slowly danced and held each other to the rhythm of the music. Perhaps the masks provided some anonymity; or, everyone was more interested in their own lives and experiences that night. Either way, being able to slow things down and just enjoy Betty’s presence gave me a warm sense of relief._

_There were some key differences between this Prom and the Proms one might see in regular Chick Flicks and Teen Romcoms. For example, there were a lot more gang jackets worn than usual, thanks to the presence of the South Side Serpent students. Beautiful cheerleaders avoided the teachers and chaperones, lest they be caught disobeying the ‘ban’ imposed on them for participating in HBIC Cheryl Blossom’s takedown of their short-lived Cheer Coach._

_And there was a shrine of sorts dedicated to the fellow students who’d been lost in the past four years._

“Does Cheryl realise that Jason wasn’t even in our grade?” Jughead whispered to Betty.

“She knows. It’s just a sore topic for her.” Betty pursed her lips as she glanced over the shrine. Candle lights reflected off the flowers and glistening glass frames in a beautiful and haunting manner. “I think it’s sweet she’s always honouring him in some way… and it's nice of her and Toni to acknowledge the other students who would have been here had things been… different.”

Jughead moved his eyes away from the portrait of Jason, scanned the image of Ben Button and Dilton Doiley before his gaze focused on an image of Joaquin DeSantos. It must have been an old school photo from South Side High, because Joaquin looked younger than he’d been when Jughead had last seen him.

Or more accurately, had last seen his dead body…

Jughead was musing over the fact that Joaquin was in Juvie while all the Sophomore South Side High students were studying at Riverdale High, and what an awful shame it was that he hadn’t had the opportunity to grow into adulthood with the rest of his friends, when he realised how still Betty had become next to him.

“Are you alright?” He asked quietly and put his arm around her.

Betty’s eyes were lined with unshed tears. “My dad murdered four of our classmates… he’s the reason they’re not here today. They didn’t die in an accident, or lose a battle with a terminal illness… they were murdered by my father.”

Jughead followed her gaze, which was locked onto a portrait of Midge Klump smiling at the camera. Next to her photo was a portrait of Nelly, and then Lucas, and then John… the three students the Black Hood had killed at their Junior Prom just over a year ago.

Jughead pulled Betty tighter to his side. 

A few metres away, Kevin and Fangs stood talking to Cheryl and Toni. 

“Any trouble sneaking through the window?” Toni asked the boys. 

Kevin shook his head. “Nah, Honey suspected nothing. He’s probably still guarding the front entrance like a psychopath.” 

Toni laughed. “You still haven’t told us why you two were banned, you know.” 

Cheryl smirked, and intended to add to their conversation, but her gaze wandered over to Betty and Jughead standing in front of the memorial she’d set up that morning.

Kevin and Fangs exchanged nervous glances. “Oh, you know…” Kevin started. “Honey can’t respect the decisions his _adult_ students make for themselves… he’s an oppressive dictator. _Zero_ tact.”

“That’s the most cryptic bullshit I’ve ever heard.” Toni retorted. She crossed her arms. “Spill. I haven’t had much to entertain me lately.”

Fangs nodded towards Cheryl. “You mean your firebird isn’t keeping you interested this week, Topaz?”

Toni looked at Cheryl. “You’re _so_ lucky the ‘firebird’ is distracted right now. Come on, throw me a bone.”

Fangs laughed. “Okay, so, you know how this year me and Kevin have had this… side hustle?”

Toni’s eyes widened. “Oh my _God_. Did Honey catch you dealing drugs?”

“No!” Kevin exclaimed, his face frantic and his eyes practically popping out of his head. “Geez, my father used to be the Sheriff. I would _never_.”

Fangs nodded. “Plus, FP would _murder_ me if he caught me selling drugs again.” He replied. 

Toni groaned. “So, no narcotics. Did he catch you hooking up in the theatre? Been _there_ …” 

Fangs blushed and looked deliberately away from Kevin. “Um… no. Our relationship is strictly business for now.” 

Kevin raised his eyebrows. “For _now_? What’s that supposed to—”

“ _Guys_. Seriously, I’m getting grey hairs here.” Toni’s face displayed her frustration. 

“Right.” Kevin squared his shoulders. “Um, so… remember a few months back when we helped you get rid of Nick St. Clair?” 

Toni’s eyebrows nearly reached her hairline. “Oh I am _so_ ready to hear this.”

Fangs rolled his eyes and squared his shoulders. “Well, what I failed to mention about my inspiration for that video... is that there’s a massive internet following for videos of people tickling each other.”

“Like just normal tickling or… tickling _sexually_?” Toni asked curiously.

“Not _really_ sexually, we don’t even have to take our clothes off in the videos.” Kevin said firmly. “It’s mainly just about the sound of our laughter…”

“Holy shit, this is the best thing I’ve heard in my life.” Toni said gleefully. “Babe, are you listening to this? Babe. _Cheryl_.” Toni shook Cheryl’s arm.

Cheryl whipped her head around to face Toni. “Yeah?” She replied sheepishly.

Toni looked Cheryl over. “What part of the universe did your brain just slip off to?” She joked.

Cheryl let out a nervous laugh. “Sorry, TT. I was so focused on Planet Bughead that I completely tuned out.”

Toni looked over at Jughead and Betty. They stood close together, facing each other; she watched as Jughead placed his hands on Betty’s face and stroked his thumbs across her cheeks. _Is he wiping away her tears?_ She thought. She couldn’t hold in her smile as she watched Betty put her arms around Jughead and place her head on his chest.

“Fair enough. They are being particularly adorable tonight.” Toni said wistfully. 

“I know.” Cheryl said. A scowl crossed over face, and her voice was significantly tighter as she continued. “I can’t believe Archie thought he stood a chance with Betty. _Seriously_ , what was he thinking?”

“Cheryl.” Kevin said, a warning in his voice; nobody else in their group had noticed, but he could see Veronica coming towards them, and she was dangerously close to being within earshot. 

But Cheryl didn’t pick up on the subtext. “Oh _please_ , like we’re not all thinking Archie’s an idiot for cheating on Veronica—”

_“Stop talking.”_ Kevin said urgently, holding up his hands. His heart dropped - he was too late… Veronica was about to reach their group… 

“—especially when there’s no possible way - _why are you waving your hands like that?”_ Cheryl said, feeling annoyed. Toni elbowed her, and Cheryl followed her girlfriend’s gaze until it landed on the last person Cheryl wanted to see.

Veronica emerged from the crowd in an electric blue gown, looking every bit the millionaire heiress she was born to be. “Oh, don’t stop on my behalf Cheryl.” Veronica said coolly. Her dark eyeshadow stood out behind her shimmery gold mask. “What were you guys just talking about?”

Kevin swallowed nervously at her mysterious expression. “V! How come you’re not with Archie…” he ran his hand through his hair.

“He’s about to go on stage.” Veronica’s piercing gaze turned to Cheryl. “What was that you were just saying, Cher?”

The group of four remained disturbingly silent.

“Wow. _Awesome_.” Her eyes blazed in a stormy fire that threatened to engulf anyone who looked her way. “So, who’s the lucky girl?” She asked casually, but her words hit them harder than a tidal wave. The music that filled the gym was loud, but it had nothing on the angry tone in Veronica’s voice. “Have I met her?” Her voice started to increase in both volume and frustration. “Is she one of our _friends_?”

“Veronica…” Cheryl choked out, her voice full of guilt. But before she could continue, the blaringly loud music abruptly stopped. 

_“Good Evening Riverdale High!”_ Archie’s preppy voice rang out through the speakers. “ _I hope everyone is having a night they’ll never forget!”_

Veronica stiffened and turned to face him. She looked up at the stage - her face now a mix of shock and brewing rage as he picked up a guitar from it’s stand.

_“Let’s all show some appreciation for a special guest joining us tonight: Riverdale’s brightest star, Josie McCoy!”_ Archie continued. The crowd of students directly in front of the makeshift stage whooped and hollered as Josie joined Archie on stage.

The group of five - Veronica included - all stood completely still as they watched the scene unfold in front of them. Archie continued to hype up the crowd, then he and Josie began singing an acoustic version of a popular duet. 

“ _Hey. I was doing just fine before I met you…”_

Veronica overcame her shock. She turned back towards her friends, her face now blank behind the mask. “Is Archie cheating on me with Josie?” She asked calmly.

_“...tell your friends it was nice to meet them…”_

Kevin was the first to snap out of the horrified trance the four of them were in. _“What?”_ Kevin shook his head furiously. “No way, I know my step-sister and she would never do that to you.” 

“Oh really?” Veronica said coldly. “Because Archie’s been acting weird the past couple of months, and now that I think about it, his bizarre behaviour lines up perfectly with the return of _Riverdale’s Brightest Star.”_

Kevin, despite his guilt, was determined to defend Josie. “Josie came back to Riverdale because she hated studying online but she still wanted to get her High School Diploma. You know this, V!” Kevin’s voice was filled with desperation. “Josie didn’t come back to try and steal your boyfriend!”

_“So baby pull me closer in the backseat of your rover…”_ Archie and Josie’s voices blended together melodically. It was beautiful, but the sound of Archie’s singing voice merging with another girl’s was starting to physically hurt Veronica.

“Who, then?” The forced calm in Veronica’s voice was starting to crack. “ _Who_ did Archie cheat on me with?”

Cheryl opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Fangs shifted nervously. Toni resisted the urge to start biting her nails. 

_“...from your roommate back in Boulder, we ain’t never getting older…”_

Veronica abruptly turned around and walked away. 

“V! Wait!” Cheryl called, and briskly hurried after her. 

Toni, Kevin and Fangs watched in complete silence as the girls made their way towards the gym’s back exit. It was the same door they’d all used to sneak into Prom. None of the trio could say anything, and the air between them became thick with awkward tension. But what could any of them say? They’d all had ample time to come clean to Veronica, and all of them had chosen not to. And as they should have predicted, that choice may have just destroyed their friendships with Veronica forever…

They stood together, and anyone who noticed them may have assumed they were watching their classmates’ performance. But none of them noticed when Archie’s guitar riff changed and the pair began singing a new song…

“Since we’re not officially speaking to each other yet, I hate to admit this. But Archie’s music sounds better than ever.” 

The three friends all jumped and turned to face Jughead. Betty was standing closely next to him, her face watching Archie and Josie’s performance with a worried expression.

“Why do you guys all look so stressed?” Jughead asked curiously as he looked between the three.

They exchanged silent glances. Kevin spoke first. “Veronica just found out—”

“That one of the cheerleaders couldn’t find the window to the Blue and Gold.” Toni cut Kevin off. She cleared her throat before continuing. “She’s gone to help them figure out the way in.”

Jughead’s eyes narrowed. His head cocked to the side, and he was clearly about to call Toni out for lying when Betty covered her mouth. His face quickly turned to her as he gave her his full attention. “Are you going to…” he looked over at Fangs, who he realised had no idea Betty was pregnant, and quickly changed his question. “Are you feeling alright?”

Betty took a long moment to respond. “Yeah… I just need some fresh air.” She seemed paler than usual as she took her hand away from her mouth.

“Come on, let’s go find a classroom to hide in.” Jughead said jokingly. “We’ll see you guys later.” He said, and the couple headed in the same direction as Veronica and Cheryl.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Fangs rounded on Toni. “Why did you cut Kevin off before?”

Toni grimaced. “Betty and Jughead’s lives are already falling apart, there’s no need to ruin _their_ Prom night as well.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Fangs asked. When Kevin and Toni exchanged nervous glances instead of answering, he continued, a tone of annoyance in his voice. “All these secrets just make things way worse.”

Toni swallowed. “It’s not really our place to say anything…”

Fangs waited for Toni continued, then sighed. “Should we try and warn Archie?”

Kevin looked back up at the red headed singer. “The second he gets off stage I’m calling Cheryl, finding out where her and Veronica are, and then dragging Archie’s sorry ass over there.”

Toni placed her head in her hands.

…

“We can leave if you want.” Jughead said loudly, hoping Betty could hear him over the sound of her own vomiting. 

Betty lifted her head from the toilet bowl in her bathroom stall and called out to Jughead. “Just give me a second. I’ll be fine.” 

Jughead leaned against the locked bathroom door. “You know, this is my first time ever being in the girl’s bathroom.”

“Scandalous.” Betty replied in a choked voice. She flushed the toilet, stood up on shaky legs and walked towards one of the sinks to wash her hands and rinse out her mouth. 

Jughead pushed his body off the door and took off his black eye mask. “We really can leave if you want.” He said softly.

Betty shook her head. “I don’t want to leave before Polly does. It took a lot of convincing for Mom to agree to let her come out tonight; and Mom’s concerns aren’t entirely unfounded. This is a _big_ event for someone who just got out of a mental health facility. If something happens to her…”

Seeing an opportunity, Jughead chose not to hold in his dark humour. “She’s here with Reggie. Something probably _will_ happen.”

Betty groaned and removed her own mask. “You’re gonna make me throw up again.”

“Well, that’ll probably happen too.” It may have been inappropriate to say, but at least it lightened the mood.

Betty rolled her eyes, then abruptly clutched the sides of her head. “Ouch. Rolling my eyes just then really made me notice my headache.” She rubbed circles into her temples. “Being pregnant _sucks_ , Jughead.”

Jughead moved closer so he could rub Betty’s back. “I wish you didn’t have to go through all this.”

“Me too.” Betty said sadly. She ran her hands under the tap again and brought more water up to her mouth.

Jughead moved his hands up to Betty’s shoulders. “I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay Jug, you don’t need to be sorry.” Betty said as she closed her eyes. “And if you keep doing that to my shoulders, then you _really_ don’t need to be sorry.” Jughead laughed quietly and started to rub Betty’s shoulders with a harder pressure. She leaned back into his hands. 

“Geez, Betts, you’re so stiff.” Jughead remarked as he started to massage circles into Betty’s shoulders.

Betty shivered and let out a moan. “Oh my God, don’t stop.”

Betty’s words lit a small fire in Jughead’s stomach. He was very aware that he hadn’t heard her moaning like that, or even heard that particular phrase come from her lips, in almost a week. Call him a nymphomaniac, but he’d grown even closer to Betty since returning to Riverdale, and their sexual intimacy had a lot to do with that; they hadn’t gone a week with without sex since he was at Stonewall, and Jughead’s body was keenly aware of that fact.

The zipper at the back of Betty’s dress began to tease his hands; his fingers brushed against the cool metal as they slid across her shoulders. He felt the urge to pull the tiny piece of metal down and expose her skin… it would give him better access to her skin in other places…

“You know…” Betty grumbled, snapping Jughead out of his lustful thoughts. “I’m not wearing any underwear under this dress…” 

The lust returned instantly. “You’re _so_ speaking my language right now, Betty.” 

She turned so she could wrap her arms around his neck. “What language is that?” She asked in a sultry voice. 

Jughead brought his lips down to her neck. “Right now…” he sucked on the skin, and she sucked in air sharply. “My language is…” his hot breath against her neck made her shiver, “Erotic poetry.”

Betty groaned. “Then _please_ keep reciting it to me.” She ran her fingers through the hair on the back of his head and tugged the strands.

He kissed her shoulder, then her collarbone, then moved his lips down to the skin of her cleavage. “I’ll speak _poetry_ to you any day of the week.” 

Betty felt hot all over, and her skin tingled where Jughead touched it with his lips. She barely even felt the hard sink behind her back as Jughead pressed her against it. Jughead went back to sucking on her neck as he reached for the zipper of her dress. She let her head drop back, and Jughead looked up without detaching his mouth; his eyes met his own in the mirror behind her. He could see his own reflection barely a ruler-length away from his face, and the image sent a thrill through his body. 

It was hot, and awesome, and sexy: the feelings he felt as he watched himself pulling down Betty’s zipper with one hand, and heard her noises of appreciation when he reached inside the front of her dress to grasp her breast in his other hand - it was indescribable. He squeezed his hand firmly and felt the vibrations of Betty’s moan. His skin tingled as she pulled the edges of his dress shirt out from where it was tucked into the front of his pants… but then something about the look on his own face in the mirror - the pleased, self-satisfied expression in his eyes as he made his girlfriend groan, _“Yes, Juggie, just like that…”_ \- made him pause.

And then… he froze.

Betty was still breathing heavily when she realised Jughead had completely stopped moving. “Jug?” He didn’t answer so she opened her eyes; her hazy pleasure quickly morphed into alarm when she noticed the look of distress in his eyes. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Jughead shook his head quickly. “I… I don’t know.” He manoeuvred himself out of Betty’s arms and readjusted the back of her dress. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s gotten into me.”

He wasn’t being entirely truthful - he _did_ know that watching himself (in the mirror) kissing Betty’s neck while she moaned “ _Juggie_ ” had reminded him of the images from their sex tape. But why should that have made him tense up? The warm feeling of being turned on had faded, and in its place was an ugly, stressed emotion that Jughead couldn’t properly identify. It was an incredibly uncomfortable nervousness - like the ‘watched’ feeling he’d felt earlier in the week.

“Hey.” Betty said, placing her hand on his cheek. “Don’t worry about it… our friends are probably wondering where we are, and it’s not very hygienic in here anyway.”

“Betty…”

“ _Stop_. You don’t need to feel bad, so wipe that guilty look off your face so we can go dance to the last of Josie and Archie’s songs.” She kissed his cheek and brushed her hair back with her fingers.

“Can hardly wait.” Jughead quipped sarcastically. 

As they walked back to the gym, Jughead wondered if the anxious nausea he felt was anything like Betty’s “morning” sickness. 

“I think we may have missed their last song.” Betty mused as they walked back in. Everyone in the gym was clapping as Archie and Josie made their way down the stairs to the side of the stage, smiles on both their faces after a successful set. 

“Terrible shame.” Jughead shrugged.

_“Jug.”_

Jughead looked at Betty and smirked. “I’m not sorry.” 

Betty shook her head and craned her neck over the crowd. “Wait, Archie’s going back on stage.” She pursed her lips. “He looks kind of nervous.”

As Archie made his way back towards the microphone, a flurry of black material rushed past Jughead’s peripheral vision. He looked away from Archie to see Toni hurrying from the stage and towards the bleachers.

Jughead took the opportunity to call out to her as she passed them. “Toni, what—”

“Can’t talk, Jug.” Toni cut him off. “AV emergency! Damnit Ethel, you had _one_ job…”

Betty and Jughead exchanged confused glances as she ran off. They didn’t have to worry for long, however, because Kevin and Fangs materialised in front of them. 

Seeing the nervous look on Kevin's face, Betty asked “What’s wrong, Kev?”

“Ah…” Kevin started, then abruptly paused.

“Where do we even _start_ …” Fangs muttered. 

Kevin shot him an annoyed look. “Um, well… there’s been some kind of technical glitch with the overhead projector, so Toni is off trying to discreetly help the AV Club sort it out.” He looked at Fangs and continued. “Their ‘Final Farewell’ video was meant to have started after Archie and Josie came off stage, and for some reason it's not starting. So Toni asked Archie to stall the crowd.”

Betty raised her eyebrows in suspicion. “Is that _all_?”

Kevin and Fangs shared another worried look, then Kevin let out a hard exhale. “No… Toni’s also getting stressed because Cheryl isn’t answering her texts.” Kevin rubbed the back of his neck. “Veronica overheard Cheryl saying something about Archie cheating and ran off… Cheryl followed her but…” Kevin slowly shrugged, a haunted look on his face. 

Betty went completely white. “V _knows_?!”

Kevin shook his head furiously. “We don’t know what she knows.” 

Betty started breathing heavily. “I have to go find her.” She started to turn around when Kevin gently grabbed her arm.

“Wait.” Kevin’s face looked forlorn but determined. “I think it’s better to let Cheryl deal with this, B…”

Betty’s eyes filled with tears, and for once she knew these weren’t just pregnancy hormone tears. She was about to argue with Kevin when Archie finally spoke; his voice rang out through the gym thanks to the microphone. _“Let’s have another round of applause for Josie McCoy!”_

Their classmates clapped and whistled; Jughead reached out to pull Betty into his side. She wrapped an arm around him and put her head against his shoulder. She hoped the tightening of her chest wouldn’t make her start crying, but the heavy thickness in her throat wasn’t making her optimistic.

_“If you want to see more of her, then head over to La Bonne Nuit this Saturday night for Josie’s final Riverdale performance!”_ Archie was squinting across the room - Jughead followed his line of sight and saw Toni at the top of the bleachers, leaning over a girl he assumed was Ethel Muggs. They both appeared frustrated. Toni looked up and started frantically shaking her head and waving her arms at Archie.

_“Um… it seems we have a few more minutes to wait until we get to view a special surprise from the AV Club.”_ Archie composed himself and continued _. “Does anyone wanna join me on stage and show us a unique talent they’ve been hiding?”_

“This is an actual train wreck.” Kevin said, horrified. 

Betty leaned into Jughead more. “Juggie. I need to talk to Veronica.”

Jughead looked down at Betty. “Do you want me to help you look for her?”

Betty stayed quiet for a moment. “No… I’ll wait for Cheryl’s update. For all I know, I could be the last person on earth Veronica wants to see right now.” 

Before he could offer her any words of comfort, Jughead realised their classmates were chanting at Archie. A chorus of _“Sing. Sing. Sing.”_ \- which sounded a lot like it was being led by Reggie - echoed throughout the gym.

_“Okay, okay… I’ll sing something else.”_ Archie said. He looked behind himself, and then reached out to pick up the guitar he had in his hands earlier _. “This is something I’ve been working on for a couple of weeks…”_

“Oh God, no. Please. Not here.” Betty was now standing up straight and staring intently at Archie. 

Jughead could feel himself getting nervous. “What is it?” He asked. 

Betty looked at him in disbelief. “Do you remember when I told you Archie played me a song before he…”

“Kissed you?” Jughead’s eyes narrowed and he looked back towards the stage. Archie started to play his guitar. The echoing strings filled the gym with a slow and steady rhythm.

“ _I wrote this song for my best friend…”_ Archie said slowly into the microphone. His eyes started to scan the crowd of Seniors - _probably in search of Betty,_ Jughead thought, anger starting to build behind the nerves.

Betty’s eyes also searched the crowd. “I can’t see Veronica. I hope she’s not about to hear this…” Jughead looked behind them both. If Veronica didn’t know it was Betty that Archie had kissed yet, she was about to find out. 

_Why is he always such an idiot?!_ Jughead thought angrily. _Seriously, why would he sing this at Prom right in front of his girlfriend…_

But then Archie continued his dedication with a complete finality: _“...Jughead Jones.”_

Jughead and Betty’s faces both whipped around in shock. Jughead stared at Archie; their eyes made contact, and Jughead realised Archie had been searching for _him_ in the crowd, not Betty.

The guitar melody got stronger and more determined, as did Archie’s voice. “ _Sometimes I’m beaten, sometimes I’m broke…”_

Betty stared at the redhead on the stage in confusion. Jughead couldn’t tear his eyes away from Archie either, even when he looked down at his guitar. 

“Is this the song he played for you?” Jughead asked her, his voice hardening.

“ _Is there a secret? Is there a code?”_

Betty shook her head. “No… it’s different.” Her eyebrows furrowed. “The other one was sadder than this…” 

_“Can we make it better? Cause I’m losing hope…”_

Archie had his eyes closed now, and still, Jughead was as close to mesmerised as he could be with someone who wasn’t Betty. 

_“Tell me how to be in this world. Tell me how to breathe in and feel no hurt. Tell me how ‘cause I believe in something: I believe in us.”_

Jughead had no idea what to feel. When he’d told his friends earlier that Archie had gotten better at singing, he hadn’t been lying. Sure, he was still angry with his supposed best friend, but Jughead could recognise talent when he saw it. 

It appeared that Archie had gotten better at _writing_ songs too. And he’d apparently written this one for Jughead… and Jughead couldn’t understand the mix of emotions this caused him. 

_“Over the riots, above all the noise, and through all the worry, I still hear your voice…”_

_You still hear_ my _voice,_ Jughead thought wistfully. He couldn’t help it: he was… touched. _Do I really have this kind of affect on Archie?_ Jughead’s stomach was in knots. _Do I mean this much to him?_

_“Tell me when the light goes down, that even in the dark we will find a way out. Tell me now ‘cause I believe in something: I believe in us.”_

Jughead could actually hear the pain in Archie’s voice. No, he could _feel_ it. It was like the melodic lyrics were cutting deep into Jughead’s soul. For a moment, Jughead forgot about how betrayed he felt by Archie, and remembered how worried he was about him. 

_“We used to be kids living just for kicks…”_

_Something is wrong with him,_ Jughead realised. Maybe Archie was depressed, maybe he just regretted kissing one of his best friends behind his girlfriend’s back - but he was hurting, _deeply_ , and Jughead could see it.

_“... we never believed we’d grow up like this…”_

The words weren’t just emotionally affecting Jughead - they meant something to him. Archie had probably written plenty of other songs, and yet in the heat of the moment he’d chosen to sing the one he’d written for _Jughead_. 

Betty slid her hand into his and squeezed it. 

This song meant something. Jughead knew it within every corner of every bone in his body. The song spread throughout the dark crevices of his mind, burning away the anger and the fear and leaving concern for his friend in its place. He knew, then, that Archie was down… maybe even losing hope… but he wasn’t giving up. Not because of Betty, or even Veronica… but because he believed in _their_ friendship. His and Jughead’s. 

Archie sang the chorus a few more times, and when he finally finished his song, the entire gym was silent. The silence only lasted a few seconds before their classmates were dutifully - and enthusiastically - cheering again, but Jughead couldn’t bring himself to clap, or cheer - or even move. He just stared up at Archie, unsure of how he was supposed to proceed after hearing something this personal coming out of the mouth of Archie freaking Andrews.

“Is anyone else tearing up a little?” Kevin asked no one in particular, his voice sounding thick with emotion. 

“Always…” Betty grumbled.

_“Thanks guys… I hope you enjoy the rest of your night. It looks like the AV Club is ready to give us all a trip down memory lane…”_ Archie cleared his throat. _“Go Bulldogs.”_ He said half-heartedly. 

The bulldogs responded in kind, barking and hollering as Archie put the guitar back down and trudged off the stage. 

Jughead ignored the video that was playing in the background; he’d already told Toni she could post it on the Blue and Gold’s website with his and Betty’s last newspaper article, so if he got desperate he could always watch it later. Instead he watched as Archie was gleefully accosted by Reggie at the bottom of the stairs. Jughead vaguely noted that Polly was walking over to the side of the gym, but his focus was on the dejected look on Archie’s face and the way he was hunched over.

“Go talk to him. You want to.” Betty said gently, snapping Jughead out of his trance.

Jughead shook his head. “No, I want to stay here with you.”

But Betty was already pushing him forward. “Go. I want to go check on Polly.” She started walking towards the other side of the gym, leaving Jughead with no choice.

Almost as if his body had a mind of its own, Jughead found himself slowly approaching Archie and Reggie. He still felt confused, and had no idea what he was going to say, but Betty was right: he _did_ want to talk to Archie.

Jughead made it to the boys at the tail end of Reggie’s speech. “... I mean, if it was me I’d just say we should take things outside, but you do you bro - oh, speak of the devil.” Reggie nodded to Jughead. 

“Hope I’m not interrupting your soliloquy, Reg.” Jughead said casually.

“Nah bro, can’t interrupt something if I don’t know the meaning of it.” Reggie looked between Archie and Jughead and noted their tense faces. “Anyway, I’m out… better go find my date, or something.” He gave them a solute and hurried away, leaving the boys standing face to face.

Jughead was the first to speak. “That was…” Jughead tried to think of the right words, but nothing could capture the essence of how he felt about Archie’s performance. He settled for: “...quite the grand gesture.” 

Archie scuffed his foot on the floor. “Well, you refused to talk to me all week…” he stared down at his shoes. “Figured I had to take drastic actions.”

Jughead swallowed. “I’m not okay with what you did…” 

“I know.” Archie said without looking up. “I’m so, so sorry, Jug.”

Jughead recalled the start of sophomore year when the two hadn’t been speaking. It was for a longer time frame than this moment, and for arguably more serious reasons. But Jughead remembered the relief he felt when Archie had decided to tell the cops about the gunshot on the Fourth of July. And the happiness of having his best friend back, his best friend who apologised for being a jerk... _“We’re not gonna hug in front of this whole town.”_ Jughead had said at the time.

It didn’t seem appropriate anymore. 

“Come here, Arch.” Jughead said quietly. 

Archie looked up and realised Jughead had his arms outstretched towards him. He stood still for a moment and stared at Jughead in disbelief, then bit the metaphorical bullet and pulled Jughead into his arms. Jughead didn’t care if the whole town saw them; he wasn’t going to let Archie go while his shoulders were still shaking…

_Being so caught up in my own drama, it was easy for me to overlook the fact that the other people in the gym were going through their own struggles and triumphs._

_Mr Honey eventually caught on to how some of his students were breaking into the Prom, which led to a rather amusing chase throughout the crowd. Cheerleaders giggled as they ran, and several other students did everything they could to get in the way. Inevitably, Mr Honey could not catch up to the students long enough to figure out their identities; lucky for those students, because Mr Honey surely would have banned them all from walking at graduation._

_No amount of begging could get Veronica back inside the gym; Cheryl spent the better part of her night in the locker room trying desperately to console her friend. Kevin told Archie, and they - along with Toni and Fangs - spent the rest of the evening sitting glumly under the bleachers._

_Once Polly and Reggie left - Betty tried very hard not to let any of her disapproval show up on her face - Betty and I made our way back home. It was as we sat in her car, looking up at our house in the calm quiet of the night that I started to have strongly mixed feelings about going home._

“You okay there Vin Diesel?” Betty asked, her voice containing hints of amusement and exhaustion. 

Jughead let out a short laugh. “I don’t drive _that_ fast.” He leaned back against the driver’s seat and sighed.

“I suppose you didn’t _quite_ break the sound barrier.” She grinned at him then shook her head. “For real though, what’s on your mind?” Betty shifted in her seat to face him. Her blonde locks fell across her shoulders, illuminated in the glow of the street lamps.

Jughead swallowed and let his head roll towards her. “I don’t know… I guess it’s our Senior Prom night, and I don’t really want to spend it stress-napping on the family couch.” Jughead ran a hand through his hair, his beanie already discarded in the back seat.

“We could go find an after party?” Betty suggested, the humour evident in her tone. “I’m sure _someone_ is having one.”

Jughead shook his head and looked back up at the house. They sat in comfortable silence for a few more minutes, and Betty honestly thought at this rate the pair may end up sleeping in the car…

She sat up straighter. “I have an idea.” She looked at Jughead and smiled widely. “Is your laptop in the car?”

… 

  
  


Jughead followed her instructions, and remained cautiously optimistic as she directed him over the bridge to the South Side. When they pulled into the visitor’s parking lot at SoDale, Jughead looked at her in confusion. 

“Why are we here?” He asked, his eyes grazing over the abomination of an apartment building next to a hastily constructed shopping centre.

Betty was already getting out of the car. Jughead followed in kind and stared as she opened the door to the backseat. He watched as she laid the backseat down on her side of the car, and raised her eyebrows over the roof as she waited for him to follow her lead on his own side. When she was opening the back door of the station wagon and climbing in, Jughead found his voice.

“What the actual hell are you doing?” He asked, amused.

“Come inside and close the door and I’ll tell you.” She leaned back against the now folded down seats, and waited patiently for him to obey. Once he had obediently followed her lead she pulled his laptop out of his backpack. “I’m grateful that this thing is somehow always with you.” She opened the laptop, connected it to her phone’s 4G data and then opened her Netflix account.

Jughead watched wistfully. “You planning to keep me in the dark all night or…?”

Betty shrugged. “In a manner of speaking.” She placed the laptop between them. “I know there’s a lot of buildings where car spaces and concession stands used to be… but right now Jughead, you and I are laying down in the back of my car and watching an old movie at the drive ins.” She said and smiled up at him.

Jughead felt his heart warming. “Betty…” 

She leaned up and pecked him on the lips. “Now shush, I want to know if Grace Kelly ever gets in the car with the Taxi Driver.”

_And with that, I finally achieved my teenage dream of sleeping with Betty Cooper at the drive-in._

_Close enough anyway._

Jughead woke up in the back of the station wagon with his neck aching and Betty curled around him. Her prom dress laid on top of them as a makeshift-blanket, but his bare chest was still feeling the early-morning chill. Betty snuggled closer into his side, Jughead’s dress-shirt providing her with a _little_ more warmth.

He regretfully woke her, and after they’d properly woken up and re-dressed themselves Jughead started to drive them back home; Betty smirked when she noticed he was purposefully driving slower than he usually would. Both of them were sore in odd places, but neither regretted sleeping in the car overnight. They may have been cold on the outside, but inside they felt lighter and warmer than they had for weeks. 

As they pulled up to the house, however, Betty started to get nervous when she noted Alice was pacing back and forth inside of their open garage. 

Rightly so, as Alice’s energy was giving off waves and waves of stress. “Elizabeth! Why didn’t you answer your phone. You know how I feel about that…”

Betty frowned. “I’m sorry, Mom, my phone died. But I texted you last night that we’d be home in the morning…”

“No matter, no matter.” Alice said dismissively, and made her way down the path from the garage. “I have your dress and shoes for graduation in my car already. We’re going to get ready at Thistlehouse.” She pulled her keys out of her handbag and wouldn’t meet either of them in the eyes.

“Mom, what—”

“No time to explain!” She pulled Betty’s hand and abruptly led her towards her car. Betty looked pleadingly at Jughead. 

Fearing the worst, Jughead said: “If something happened with my dad, you guys don’t need to leave…” he hoped the hints of unease he’d noticed between them - from FP being in legal trouble to Alice thinking about moving out with the twins - weren’t about to morph into a full-blown breakup. He’d rather gotten used to having Alice around, and she usually made his dad happy… and surely he didn’t imagine how much Alice smiled around FP… 

But Alice was on an unstoppable mission and was in no mood to listen to reason. “No need to worry, Jughead. You and your sister just need some family time, I think. Get in the car, Elizabeth.”

“But—”

“ _Now_.” Alice hastily got inside her car and roughly closed the door.

Betty looked at Jughead from beside her mother’s car. “I guess I’ll see you at graduation?” Her face was a mask of pure confusion.

“Yeah… I’ll see you there?” He replied, hoping his statement was true.

He half-heartedly waved as they drove off, and as he walked back through the garage and into the back yard, Jughead mused that Alice may be trying to take his place as the fastest driver in the family. 

“Is this the walk of shame?” Jellybean asked from her seat at the kitchen table, grinning at Jughead as walked in through the back door to the kitchen.

“You don’t even know what that means, JB.” Jughead pulled his beanie out of his back pocket and pulled it onto his head. He rubbed more of the sleep out of his eyes and made his way to the coffee pot.

FP heard the door opening and hurried over. “Alice, please don’t— _Jug_ , you’re back boy.”

Jughead yawned and faced his father and sister. “Yeah, Dad. I’ve returned, unfortunately sans Betty. Did you and Alice have a fight or something? I haven’t seen her look that frantic in a while…”

Jellybean made a quick jerk of her head and gave Jughead a panicked look. Jughead’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Ahh… no, me and Alice are fine. Everything is _fine_.” FP rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks blushing red.

Jughead raised his eyebrows and turned to walk back to the door, his hand outstretched to indicate towards the garage. “Then why was she…”

A new voice stopped Jughead in his tracks. “Aw, come on Old Man. Your girlfriend didn’t need to leave on _my_ behalf.”

Jughead spun around, his heart racing faster than any car he’d ever driven.

_“Mom?!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming up next:
> 
> Gladys being back in town brings it’s own list of problems that shed some light on FP’s legal situation. Betty and Jughead get into a heated disagreement, and Betty gets into trouble with the new Sheriff. Jellybean’s best friend finds some damning evidence about the local voyeur, but can either of them figure out what it all means before it’s too late?
> 
> Someone gets a job, someone goes to hospital, someone goes missing. 
> 
> And Alice, FP and Gladys find out about Jughead and Betty’s baby in entirely different ways... and have entirely different reactions.
> 
> —— 
> 
> For those of you who haven’t already guessed, “Archie’s” song for Jughead was “Us” by James Bay. I’ve been listening to this song and writing the chapter for WEEKS so I’m hoping you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it :)  
> The duet Josie and Archie sang was “Closer” by Halsey and The Chainsmokers.


	14. ... silence, like a cancer, grows ...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladys brings drama with her. Everyone graduates and the final summer before college begins, and Cheryl throws a belated birthday party for herself.
> 
> Betty and Jughead’s concern for each other blows up into a heated argument, and Betty gets questioned by the new sheriff. The parents find out about the pregnancy in extremely different ways, and creepy disappearances around Centerville put everyone on edge.
> 
> One of our beloved Riverdaleans ends up in hospital.
> 
> Bonus: Charles gives Jughead... a *what*?! And some wild Choni scenes appear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY NEW YEAR
> 
> Anyone remember when FP made all the teen serpents into Junior Deputies?
> 
> Well I do.
> 
> Also, Jason was CANONICALLY seventeen when he died, according to Archie in episode 1. Therefore, Cheryl, his TWIN, was also seventeen. So don’t come for me, it’s Riverdale’s fault.

Chapter 14 - …silence, like a cancer, grows… 

  
  


_If it weren’t for almost being murdered by my prep school classmates, Betty’s pregnancy, and the wide-release of our sex tape, then having my mother at my graduation ceremony would have been the biggest plot twist of 2020._

_Unsurprisingly, she offered no information as to why she’d suddenly appeared at our house, apart from:_ “Really, Jug, you thought I’d miss your high school graduation?” _It wasn’t a_ bad _excuse, but certainly not one that completely convinced me she wasn’t up to something._

_While I was always slightly on guard around her, I was conscious of the fact that I hadn’t seen her in over a year - I wasn’t about to give up the opportunity when she was standing right in front of me._

_Jellybean was over the moon with happiness at our mother’s presence. They’d kept in contact over the past year, but I knew from experience that sporadic phone calls and facebook messages have nothing on the real thing. No matter how badly she’d messed up, she would always be the person who raised us._

_Of course, her return wasn’t without immediate consequences… and her presence brought an influx of drama that was, quite possibly, even more explosive than that of the high school students surrounding her…_

  
  
  


Betty adjusted her deep blue graduation gown - a difficult move to achieve while holding her newly received High School Diploma in one arm and Juniper in the other. “Mom, you’re being ridiculous.” She whispered to Alice. Juniper started to wriggle in Betty’s arms, so Betty let her down and watched as she toddled over to Polly.

Alice flicked her hair off her shoulder, then inspected the lense on her camera. “This is an important day for you, Elizabeth. I’m not wrong for wanting to capture the memories.” She held the camera up to her eyes and focused on Betty. “Now smile.”

Betty rolled her eyes and smiled until the camera flashed. “I’m not talking about you taking photos, I appreciate those. I _meant_ that you can’t just avoid FP forever.” Her eyes darted to the right - she _thought_ she’d seen Jughead and his parents talking to Sweet Pea and his grandmother _somewhere_ in the sea of graduates meandering the football grounds, but the hustle and bustle of the excited families at Riverdale High were proving to be a lot harder to see through than Betty liked.

“Elizabeth, I’m _not_ avoiding FP.” Alice’s voice was level, but her eyes were strained. “Now can we focus back on you?”

Standing just behind Alice, Polly couldn’t keep the mirth from her face as she said: “Yeah Betty. Mom’s not avoiding her boyfriend. She’s avoiding _his wife._ ” Betty couldn’t hold in the breathy laugh she let out at the sight of the grin on Polly’s face.

Alice’s eyes narrowed as she turned to give Polly a disapproving look. “ _Honestly_ girls.” She said with a huff. 

Polly raised her eyebrows and shrugged. She adjusted Dagwood against her hip while simultaneously rubbing Juniper’s shoulder. The little girl looked around herself, sucking her thumb as she leaned against Polly’s legs. 

Betty watched her sister interacting with her children. She seemed to be in her element, balancing her focus between keeping an eye on Juniper and bouncing Dagwood in her arms, all while still managing to pay attention to Betty and Alice. Polly was practically glowing with her long blonde hair stylishly held back with a bright red headband, and her lithe form accentuated by the belt at the waist of her yellow sundress. It was a relief for Betty to see how far her sister had come in the past year, considering how frantic and depressed she’d been when she’d first been admitted to Shady Grove. 

“Congratulations Betty.” Said a new voice, and Betty turned to her right to face Charles. She smiled as he handed her a beautifully arranged bouquet of blue and yellow roses that were held together by bright cellophane and ribbon.

“Aw, thanks Charles. You’re too sweet.” Betty said, smiling up at her older brother. He ducked his head and blushed faintly - a move that reminded her, surprisingly, of FP. “These are so pretty!” 

“Hey, Charles.” Polly moved closer towards them, holding an excited Juniper’s hand firmly to stop her from wandering off into the crowd of students. She opened her mouth to comment on the bouquet Charles had brought Betty, but paused as she noted the _other_ thing Charles was holding. “Ah… is that a cactus?”

Charles looked down at his hand. “Oh, it's a succulent, actually. An Echeveria Moon Gadnis - or _Moon Goddess,_ colloquially.” When the three women merely looked at him in confusion, he explained: “It’s for Jughead… he just doesn’t seem like the ‘roses’ type.” Charles chuckled.

Alice smiled, her expression softening. “Too right you are, Charles. We’ll have to find him so you can give it to him. He’s probably with your father…”

Polly smirked at Betty, who shook her head in disbelief. _Oh, so now that_ Charles _wants to go find the Joneses, it’s okay…_ mused Betty.

A flash of red out of the corner of her eye gave Betty a distraction from her family’s insanity. The red turned out to be Cheryl’s hair, and Betty’s stomach rolled as she realised her cousin was talking to Veronica. Even from across the football field Betty could see the fake smile plastered on her best friend’s face; she swallowed and hoped it would be enough to keep away her sudden onset of nausea.

Hours earlier, when they were taking their places in the gym to prepare for their graduation ceremony, Veronica had hugged Betty unenthusiastically, and answered Betty’s: _“Are you okay?”_ with a tight smile and a quick, _“We can talk later, B.”_

Betty was filled with a guilt that sickened her even more than her pregnancy hormones… 

The Cooper/Smiths didn’t have to wait too long to see the Joneses, because Jughead - more energetic and smiley than he’d been all week - was already leading his parents and sister over to the group. He quickly pulled Betty in for a hug and pecked her on the lips; Betty was relieved to feel his arms around her.

“Hey _graduate_.” Betty said, nudging his side as she shoved down her guilt and let the happiness she’d felt after graduating envelop her again. 

It truly was phenomenal: the feeling of joy Jughead and Betty both felt after two straight weeks of stress and worry. Betty knew graduating would be emotional, but truthfully, she was expecting more tears than smiles (especially from herself).

“These are nice.” Jughead noted, indicating to the flowers as he smiled down at her. “This is surreal. I keep wanting to pinch myself.” 

The two were so caught up in the excitement of graduating that they were momentarily oblivious to their parents’ tense interactions… 

“FP. Gladys. It’s good to see you both again so soon.” Alice said stiffly. She stood rigidly still, her hands gripping her camera so hard that Polly wondered if she should rescue the small machine before it was crushed in her mother’s palms.

FP’s eyes dropped down to his feet as Gladys smirked. “ _Likewise_.” She said casually, the amusement in her voice obvious. 

The three parents stood awkwardly staring at anything but each other (well, FP and Alice were awkward, Gladys appeared to be having a great time), when eventually Polly couldn’t take the silence any more.

She caught Jellybean’s eye. “Um… hey, Jellybean right? I don’t think I’ve seen you since you were a bit older than this one.” She nodded her head to Dagwood, who was still happily settled in her arms.

Jellybean smiled politely - an odd deviation from her usual cheeky grin. “ _Yep,_ the one and only _…_ and you’re Betty’s sister? I’ve seen photos of you around the house.”

Alice snapped out of her awkward stance. “I’m sorry, where are my manners? Gladys, you probably remember my oldest daughter, Polly? And _this_ is my son: Charles.” 

Charles remained as calm and collected as ever as he politely greeted Gladys. Polly had always been able to read Betty’s emotions like an open book, but her brother was still a complete mystery to her. Mysteries weren’t Polly’s area of expertise, however, so if there was anything wrong with Charles beneath the surface, she’d have to leave that up to her sister to figure out.

“Your _son_?” Gladys said, her voice a mixture of confusion. “I’m sorry, Alice, I didn’t realise you and Hal had any more kids than the two girls.” She attempted to hide the frown that wanted to spread across her face, and was only partially successful.

Betty - who _had_ been staring adoringly at Jughead - stiffened as she overheard the mention of her dad. 

Jughead had heard the comment as well; but rather than glaring at his mother in contempt for bringing up Betty’s father (he’d leave that to Alice) his attention went right to his own father. 

_Did he not tell her about Charles?!_ Jughead’s mouth almost dropped open in surprise at the realisation.

Alice gritted her teeth, but kept her expression neutral. “Yes, well. _Clearly_ there’s a lot you don’t know.” She turned her gaze towards FP, whose discomfort visually increased.

Gladys crossed her arms over her chest. “What’s that supposed to mean—”

Jellybean sprang to action and spoke in a rush. “Charles! Let’s go check out the snack table. They have those mini hotdogs you like…” she moved to pull her brother away, but was stopped short. 

“Wait, JB.” Alice said (Jellybean mumbled _“Oh, God, why?”_ under her breath). “The five of you have never been in one place before… I don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to capture the moment.” She held up her camera.

Betty reached down to pick up Juniper, who’d made an escape from Polly’s hand to run towards her aunt. It was a struggle while holding her bouquet, but Betty managed to scoop her niece up with _almost_ as much grace as Polly would have. “Mom… I really don’t think now is the time…” she said as she shared an incredulous look with Polly. 

Dagwood started eyeing Jughead suspiciously, and Polly was thankful he hadn’t tried to jump out of her arms and attack her sister’s boyfriend just yet. She’d heard the story about him throwing a ball at Jughead’s face, and wasn’t in the mood for a repeat… 

But before anyone else could argue, FP was enthusiastically encouraging Alice. “Great idea! That’s a photo _I_ definitely want in my office. And on one of the walls in the living room, maybe even my wallet…” he smiled sheepishly at Alice.

Alice raised her eyebrows and gave him a nod of approval. The five sort-of-siblings all grouped together, with the twins still in Betty and Polly’s arms. Charles seemed a little stunned, and Betty realised with a start that posing for family photos must be a foreign concept to him.

Jughead let his eyes wash over his dad as he put an arm around Betty and leaned in to whisper in her ear. “I’m gonna kill him.” He gave his dad a chagrined look, and FP avoided eye contact. Charles had been in their lives for over a year, and his dad had _known_ about him for even longer - surely the topic of his existence must have come up to his _wife_ at some point?

“I think my mom might beat you to it.” Betty whispered back, noting the way her mother was definitely _not_ looking at FP and trying to pretend everything was perfectly fine. Betty smiled for her mother’s photo, then leaned into Jughead again. “Actually, I think _your_ mom might beat you to it.”

Jughead watched as his mother’s face bore a flicker of realisation - which quickly morphed into anger. Then, her expression became one of complete calm as she turned to face FP. Jughead wished he could hear what his mother whispered to Alice, but the crowd of graduates and families were _loud,_ and his own parents were standing _just_ out of earshot… 

“Wow, Alice.” Gladys whispered. “I’ve got to say, your son looks just like you. I can _clearly_ see the resemblance between him and your daughters too.” 

Alice remained poised. “Thank you.” She adjusted the lense on her camera and moved it back up to her eye.

Gladys turned to face FP and fixed him with a glare. “Not his eyes, though. Your daughters have _their_ father’s green eyes.” Her voice turned into an icy calm. “Charles must have gotten his eyes from _his_ father.”

FP stiffened, but Alice kept her resolve. “He has blue eyes, like _me,_ Gladys. Don’t overthink it.” 

“Indeed.” Gladys said simply, but there was a toxic venom in her words that gave her husband chills as she continued. “Almost… no, _exactly_ the same shade of blue as _our_ kids’ eyes, wouldn’t you say, FP?” Her voice held a deadly stability. “Your mother had those same bright blue eyes, too, right?”

Alice turned around and noted the excruciatingly uncomfortable look FP was giving his shoes. She wanted _so_ much to give FP a piece of her mind, and even more to give _Gladys_ something to bitch about - but not here. Not at her daughter’s graduation ceremony. Alice turned back around and looked at the kids - the five had turned into each other to talk, and Charles was mildly smirking as he gave Jughead the Graduation Succulent. 

She flicked some hair over her shoulder, and decided to ignore the drama unfolding behind her. It wasn’t her place to interfere with the opinions of another man’s _wife,_ after all… 

…

“Does Veronica know it was Betty yet?” Toni whispered to Cheryl as they watched Veronica leaving the school grounds. Her parents and older half-sister Hermosa, who was freshly returned from Miami, followed closely behind. Hiram appeared particularly proud, though it was disconcerting seeing the usually cool, dangerous man hunched over and looking pained.

Cheryl groaned and shook her head. “She’s still adamant that she wants to hear it from Archie.” 

Toni frowned as she watched Veronica getting into her family’s limo. “Gonna be hard for her to talk to Archie while she’s in New York.” She put her arm around Cheryl’s hunched over form.

Cheryl nodded sadly and placed her head on Toni’s shoulder. “I wish I could have convinced her not to leave. I hate the thought of her dealing with this alone…”

“She won’t be alone. Isn’t she staying with that friend of hers? What was her name… Katelyn?”

“Katy.” Cheryl corrected. “But Katy’s not from Riverdale… she isn't going to understand…”

Toni rubbed Cheryl’s arm. “I’m sure she’ll understand enough to comfort her friend’s broken heart.”

Cheryl opened her mouth to speak, but a loud voice interrupted her: “There she is.” 

Toni and Cheryl both jolted at the voice. They turned around, and noted a small group of people who Cheryl didn’t recognise. 

Toni, however, stiffened, and took a small step away from Cheryl. “Uncle Tommy…” She said in a strained voice.

Cheryl’s eyebrows rose so high they almost reached her perfectly groomed hairline. _Uncle?!_ She thought. _I didn’t realise Toni’s uncle was coming. I thought she didn’t talk to him anymore…_ as she thought, she noted the resemblance between this man and Toni. Their similar colouring, the shape of their eyes. Likewise, the younger two members of the group also shared similar features with Toni; in particular the girl, who appeared to be around thirteen, had almost exactly the same facial features, but had significantly more braids in her hair. The boy, who seemed no older than ten, reminded Cheryl of a small male version of Toni. _Are these Toni’s cousins?_ She wondered. _Why has she never mentioned them…_

An older man followed closely behind and stepped into Cheryl’s line of sight - this one, she _did_ recognise (from the one time she’d met him) as being Thomas Topaz, Toni’s grandfather. The elderly gentleman had a formidable presence, but a cheerful smile spread across his face in opposition of the fierce aura surrounding him. 

“What are you guys doing here?” Toni said, forcing her voice to remain steady. Cheryl turned her face to look at her girlfriend, and noted with a start that Toni appeared tense. Her whole body was rigid, and her face was contorted into a mask of feux calm. 

“We came to see if the rumours were true.” Tommy said, his face twisted into a snarl. The kids beside him took a step back, their faces watching him uneasily.

But Toni’s grandfather shook his head and walked up to Toni and Cheryl. “Ignore him, _and_ his shit. We came to congratulate you on graduating. First in the family! I don’t think I’ve ever been this proud in my life.” He opened his arms out, and Toni only hesitated for a moment before she was enveloping him into a hug. He pulled away and put a hand on her shoulder, then faced the other three members of the Topaz family. “Mercedes, Harley, this is what I want to see from you two in a few years. If you don’t mess around in high school, you might even be able to go to college like your cousin.” He smiled fondly at Toni.

Tommy rolled his eyes. “I don’t care what they do so long as they don’t become dirty, lying mutts like—” 

“ _Tommy_ , what did we talk about in the car?” Thomas said fiercely, and Cheryl was struck with awe at how much regal power seemed to exude from Toni’s grandfather.

The young girl - Mercedes, Cheryl assumed - stepped around Tommy to face Toni. “Toni, when are you coming home?” Her face seemed shy, and her voice held a vulnerability that pulled on Cheryl’s heart. 

“We miss you.” Said the boy, whose name must be Harley. “It’s not the same without you.” He looked down at the ground as he spoke.

Toni’s lips thinned into a line, and Cheryl felt, suddenly, as though she was intruding on an intimate family moment. “I don’t live on the South Side anymore, guys… I’m sorry. But hey, I want you to meet my… _friend,_ Cheryl.”

Cheryl was taken aback. _Friend?! Excuse me?!_ She felt like glaring at Toni in contempt - _the audacity! -_ but she saw the pleading look on Toni’s face, and decided to play along. “Nice to meet you Harley. Mercedes.” She smiled at the kids. “You must be Toni’s cousins, she’s told me _so_ much about you two.” The lie slid out naturally, and only Toni noticed the hardening look in Cheryl’s eyes.

“Really? I didn’t think she would. She doesn’t like us much…” Mercedes said sadly. 

Toni’s heart broke a little bit. “That’s not true! You two are my favourite cousins. Who told you I don’t like you?” She gave her uncle a piercing look. 

Mercedes and Harley looked expectantly at Tommy, but he ignored the pair of them. “Cheryl _Blossom,_ are you?” He said, turning to face Cheryl as her name spewed out like venom. “ _The_ Cheryl Blossom who, rumour has it, my dear niece has been living with?”

“Tommy, _don’t…_ ” Toni said pleadingly.

Tommy raised his hands up to his shoulders. “Don’t _what,_ exactly, oh backstabbing niece of mine?” His eyes narrowed as he took in Cheryl’s fiery red hair. 

Cheryl took a protective step closer to Toni. “Yes, Cheryl Blossom. The one and only! It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” 

_“Wow,_ Antoinette. You’re really shacking up with this genocidal rich-bitch over your own blood?” Tommy fixed his glare on Toni and his shoulders seemed to get bigger (though Cheryl wondered if that was her now-stressed mind playing tricks on her).

_“Don’t call her that!”_ Toni said, no longer able to fake the calm. 

“What? A bitch? Genocidal? You _know_ what her family did to ours, Toni.” If possible, he seemed to become more and more frightening. “Her ancestors slaughtered ours, and now she lives proudly on _our_ land, growing maple trees in the earth, fertilised with _our_ _family’s_ blood.”

“That’s enough Tommy.” Toni’s grandfather said harshly. Thomas Topaz was fiercely proud of his Uktena heritage, but the mention of their slaughter always made him despairingly emotional. As such, Toni had learned there was a time and a place to bring them up - a lesson learned, ironically, from her uncle.

But Tommy apparently wasn’t finished with his tirade. “Oh, there’ll _never_ be enough the Blossom’s can do to bring back the Uktena.” There was an angry sort of emotion in his voice, and Cheryl could see Toni was becoming more and more uncomfortable.

Thomas remained silent, though his cheerful expression was long gone. 

“You’re right.” Cheryl said honestly. 

Toni looked at her in surprise. “Cher…”

Cheryl’s face set in determination. “You’re right.” She said directly to Tommy. “Nothing will ever be enough. I’m so sorry… I _wish_ there was something I could do to ease your pain.” She wanted to reach out and take Toni’s hand, but focused instead on the two Topaz men. “All I can do now is support any actions the remaining Uktena make to honour their ancestors.”

Toni smiled a small, tired smile that did nothing to hide the tears building up in her eyes. Thomas gave Cheryl a look of approval, then raised his eyebrows and focused his gaze on Tommy. 

“Can we stop harassing Toni’s friends now, son?” Thomas said, then without waiting for an answer, he continued. “I’m in the mood for a strawberry milkshake. Been a good while since I talked to old Pop Tate… my treat for anyone who wants to join.”

Cheryl gave Toni an encouraging nod. There was a tense, awkward feeling in the air, and Cheryl knew from Toni’s stories about her grandfather that her uncle bringing up the Uktena’s slaying was only going to make Thomas Topaz needlessly upset. 

The thought that she’d once actively praised and promoted General Pickens for his part in ‘founding’ the town of Riverdale made Cheryl physically ill. Her girlfriend’s family, her people, her _culture_ \- were nearly wiped out by the Blossom ancestors. It was moments like this one that Cheryl was reminded of how much she _hated_ the fact that the Blossoms were involved with an act as atrocious as the murder of hundreds of people. _I shouldn’t be surprised,_ she thought darkly, _murder runs deep in the Blossom family…_

_……_

Betty phoned Veronica three times. 

Once when she first got back to Thistlehouse, and was able to sneak into the bathroom and away from her mother’s watchful eye. Again while she boiled a pot of water in the rarely-used Blossom kitchen, while her mother and sister waited for her to make camomile tea. And once more after Toni and Cheryl returned home, looking significantly stressed but still providing a much needed distraction for her family (the twins were especially excited to continue with the graduation celebrations that neither of them fully understood).

Veronica didn’t answer.

_……_

_By age seven, I was used to my parents screaming at each other. Usually I knew why (they were never very good at sugar coating it): oftentimes it was because my dad was drunk again, or my mom was being too hard on us, or they had no money, or the serpents were asking too much of my dad - didn’t they_ know _he had two little kids to look after? He couldn’t risk going to jail_ again…

_Of course, Mom and Dad didn’t start fighting_ right _away when we got home from the graduation ceremony. I had time to re-home the succulent Charles got me, choosing to place it on Betty’s bedside table where the sun shone through the window, while dad ordered a celebration pizza from Little Cicero’s. And the conversation was oddly pleasant for most of the night. Pleasant in a way that was almost_ too _perfect for the imperfect Joneses._

_But of course, when the sun was set and our stomachs were full of pizza, I heard it: the arguing._

_It wasn’t quite like the old days, when me and Jellybean would hide behind the couch in the trailer or flea the premises altogether. It was even more disappointing, because they went down into the basement where they thought we couldn’t hear them. Maybe Jellybean couldn’t, since she’d gone upstairs wearing her headphones, but from my temporary home on the couch, I could hear the accusatory words, and the almost shouts, and the_ “Please, Gladys, I don’t want the kids to hear…” _and the_ “For God’s sake FP, talk to me like a normal person, not a fucking North Side foney…” 

_Of course, there was one thing that travelled up the staircase that was louder than everything else they were mad about._

“You’re a guilt-tripping, manipulative liar!” Gladys was officially at peak anger, Jughead could tell, even though her words were muffled by the closed door of the basement and the distance between their positions in the house. “You told me she got a fucking abortion!”

Jughead felt his throat squeezing involuntarily. 

“Gladys… you don’t understand.” FP’s voice was less angry, and more sad. 

But Gladys was still infuriated. “What’s not to understand? That blonde haired, blue eyed _FBI Agent_ that was hanging around our kids is _clearly_ your son. Are you going to stand there and pretend that he isn’t?” 

“No, he is. He is mine.” FP said quickly.

“Then _what?_ You just decided your _wife_ didn’t need to know you had other kids running around Riverdale? Did you just _forget_ to mention him?”

“I didn’t know…” 

“So she lied to you?” Gladys’ voice lowered in volume but not anger. “She lied about your son and you just _got over it_ and let her and her daughter live in our house? You’re going to let a _liar_ be around JB?”

“Keep your voice down!” FP’s frustration was obvious. 

Jughead didn’t want to listen to their argument anymore - not only was it harshing his graduation buzz, but it was starting to bring back dark childhood memories. But he couldn’t help but pause as he processed the last of his dad’s words that he could hear:

“I didn’t lie to you… my ex _did_ get an abortion… but I wasn’t talking about _Alice…_ I didn’t know _she_ was pregnant, Gladys, I swear…”

Jughead stiffened and almost ran out the back door.

He wanted to climb onto the roof, as he did the weekend previously, but the ladder was locked in their shed and he had no idea where his dad kept the keys. He settled instead for laying back on the cool grass outside.

Maybe if he stared at the clear sky long enough, he could pretend that if he reached out his hands he could touch the flickering stars. Maybe the dark abyss would swallow him and he wouldn’t have to think anymore… 

“Jug, what are you doing out here?” 

Jughead opened his eyes. _Did I fall asleep?_ He wondered as he looked up at his mother. The night was now pitch black, and the stars had completely overtaken the sky behind her. “I’m embracing the soundless ambience.” He said. He sat up slowly and placed his hands on the grass behind him.

Gladys huffed and sat down next to him. “You haven’t changed one bit.” She smiled fondly at him and reached over to ruffle his hair. 

He resisted the urge to pull away from her touch. “Yeah well… neither have you.” He frowned slightly, unable to keep the annoyance from his voice completely.

Gladys sighed. “I’m sorry, Jug…” she sounded genuine, but Jughead was immune to her apologies. “How much of that did you hear?”

“Enough to know that Dad apparently got more than one person knocked up in high school.” Jughead remarked flippantly. 

“Shit, Jug.” Gladys ran a hand through her hair. Neither of them spoke for a minute, and Gladys eventually reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a packet of cigarettes. Jughead raised his eyebrows as she placed one in her mouth and offered him the packet.

He shook his head and let out a laugh. “I think Betty would handcuff me to a door if she found out I tried smoking.” 

Gladys smirked as she lit her cigarette. “Hmm… I dunno, that doesn’t seem like much of a punishment.” She took a long drag, and contemplated his statement. “From what I heard, you’d probably like that.”

Jughead paused and stared at her in shock, then as her words caught up with him he groaned and looked straight ahead. “You heard about the video.”

“Oh _yes,_ I heard.” She stated, her voice hardening. 

_“How?”_

Gladys reached back into her pocket and pulled out a small touch screen phone. She took another drag as she scrolled through her messages. She cleared her throat and read from her phone screen. _“Hey mom. I hope you’re coming home soon. Jughead is in some seriously deep shit. He has a sex tape with Betty from when she was seventeen and its spreading through Riverdale like an STD.”_ Gladys looked up at Jughead for a moment then continued reading. _“Hey mom. False alarm. Sort of. Jughead totally just dodged_ jail _but I’m pretty sure he’s in even deeper shit with Betty now.”_

Jughead tensed up. “Jellybean.”

“Ah huh.” Gladys grumbled sarcastically. “At least _one_ member of this family keeps me informed.” 

“Look, Mom…”

But Gladys cut him off. _“Hey again mom, I hope you’re getting these messages. You won’t BELIEVE -_ and yes, JB typed that word in capital letters, Jug, so she was being very serious - _what happened today. Dad grounded Jughead for drinking. Actually grounded him! I’ve never laughed so hard in my life.”_ She pursed her lips as she read out the final message, her tone becoming a lot more serious. _“Hey mom. Jughead had a panic attack at school today. Dad said I’m not allowed to harass Jug about it but I think he needs help. I’m really worried about him. Please come home.”_

Jughead looked down at the ground, feeling entirely unsure of himself. “I knew you coming for my graduation was bullshit.” 

“It is _not_ bullshit. I came here for _you_ Jug. In more ways than one.” Gladys said cryptically as she put her phone away. “Alright kid. Hit me with it.” She adjusted her jacket and sat up straighter. “Give me all the gory details.”

Jughead shuffled around so he could face her. “I’m not sure you want to know.”

“I’m all ears.” She stubbed out her cigarette on the grass. “I have a whole carton of these out in my van and fifteen hours before I have to leave.”

“Your van?”

“A blue Combi. I’ve been living in it temporarily - easily movable, hidden in plain sight, fully stocked, and multiple secret compartments. It’s _such_ a sweet ride. I bet your girlfriend would love to get her hands under the hood.” She smirked. “You can show it to her if Alice Cooper lets her come out of hiding.”

Jughead let out a single laugh. “She goes by ‘Smith’ now. Doesn’t want to be associated with Hal anymore.”

Gladys shrugged. “Well, she shouldn’t have had kids with someone she didn’t want to be associated with forever.”

Jughead raised his eyebrows. “Pot calling the kettle black, there, don’t you think?”

“Hey, your old man’s alright.” Her lips smoothed into a line. “Been a better parent than me lately.”

“That’s not what you were yelling at him before…” Jughead muttered. 

A guilty expression crossed over Gladys’ face. “I _am_ sorry you heard that…” she frowned. “I was really angry at him for hiding things from me… not _just_ your secret older brother, by the way, but the fact that you faked your death? He should have called me about that, but I had to hear it from Alice Cooper’s news documentary. And _that’s_ messed up.”

For the first time in a long time, Jughead could agree with his mother.

“Look, I think you’re old enough to know that me and your dad… we have our differences.”

Jughead rolled his eyes. “You don’t say.”

She ignored him. “And we’ve both made a _lot_ of mistakes in raising you two. There’s some bad blood between us now, on both ends, and I don’t think there’s any way we can fix it.”

Jughead nodded quietly. It’s not like he expected his parents to get back together, not _really…_ but still, he felt a twinge in his heart as he felt the last ember of hope flickering out for the Jones family.

“I would have needed to come to Riverdale sometime soon anyway, because I have some legal stuff to sort out with him. And I _hope_ that it’ll mean you and your sister are better off.”

Jughead’s eyebrows knitted together. “Legal… you’re getting divorced?”

_“No,_ Jug.” She shook her head.

“But… you just said - no fixing it.” His brain swam with confusion.

“I’m sure your dad will explain it all to you later… but right now, I just want to hear about this ‘deep shit’ you’re in with Betty.” Gladys nudged his shoulder with her own. “And no more sidetracking and avoiding the topic.” A smirk flickered across her face and she raised an eyebrow. “Did she catch you hooking up with Archie or something?”

“Oh, my God, _no_ Mom. _Geez_.” Jughead put his head in his hands. “Why are you so convinced I have a thing for Archie?!” 

Gladys chuckled. “You were always following that kid around everywhere, and you were _never_ interested in girls. I remember when you were in the fifth grade, you ranted to me for an hour about how Archie ‘proposed’ to Betty and how it made you angry because you were convinced he wouldn’t play video games with you anymore, or read comic books with you because, and I quote: _‘married men don’t have time for friends’._ ”

Jughead snorted. 

_“And_ when you got to high school, you went all gothic—”

“—I wasn’t _gothic_ —”

“And I _definitely_ caught you rolling your eyes at any of the girls that showed interest in Archie. What was I _meant_ to think, Jug?” Gladys shrugged. “You’ve always been so sensitive and emotional, it made sense to me. And hey, at least you know I’d accept you if you _did_ replace your North Side Blonde with a member of the brawnier sex.”

“Alright, alright, I get it.” Jughead sighed, “But none of this has anything to do with Archie… although, I did get in a fight with him over the weekend I’ll tell you about later.” Gladys raised her eyebrows, but refrained from interrupting. And then, like ripping off a bandaid, Jughead told his mom: “Betty’s pregnant.”

There was a moment of silence between them. Jughead refused to look at his mother’s face for fear of what he’d find there. 

“That,” Gladys said slowly. “Is some _deep_ shit.” She pulled out another cigarette as her eyes widened. 

“Yeah…” Jughead said softly. “So… not looking to start an affair with the boy next door anytime soon.” He breathed out sharply and looked down.

Gladys stared straight ahead. “I see.”

He squared his shoulders with determination. “We have a plan though.” 

“I sure hope you do.” She said weakly.

“We do. I promise.” He was unusually hungry for her approval. Even through his abandonment and trust issues, he didn’t want his mother to be disappointed in him. 

She took another one of those long drags of her cigarette. “Let’s hear it then.”

“We both have some money saved… we’re going to work all through the Summer, and then the second we can move on campus we’ll start working in New Haven.” Jughead recited the baseline plan he and Betty had - there were _several_ technicalities they had to work out, but it was a start, at least. “And we’ll just have to stay focused… Betty already offered to make me a study/work/baby schedule, which is a _little_ bit far from my usual style, but she pointed out that we need to make a lot of lifestyle changes if we’re going to cope, and she’s the smartest person I know, _and_ the school counsellor thinks it’s a good idea, so I trust their judgment.”

“So you’re going to work, and do college, _and_ have a baby.” Gladys sounded sceptical. 

“Um, yeah…” Jughead’s voice wavered, then he shook his head of the negative thoughts. “We’re going to try, Mom. It’s going to be hard, we both know that. But… we don’t want to give up before we’ve even _tried._ ”

“Jug…” she rubbed the front of her forehead before continuing. “You have absolutely no idea what madness you’re getting yourself into. Have you _really_ thought this through? Has Betty?” 

Jughead nodded. “As much as we can with everything else that’s happening.” 

Gladys looked like she was contemplating making a statement, and then she let out a long gust of air. “Look, Jug… just do yourself and Betty a favour and don’t rush into anything more serious than a child too soon. You’re only young, Jug. In five years you and Betty might hate each other, and you don’t want to be married to someone unless you’re absolutely certain that it’s right for your relationship.” 

Jughead frowned, a dark feeling settling itself in his chest. “Are you speaking from experience?”

Gladys quickly shook her head. “Not exactly… but I _wasn’t_ ready to have kids when I found out I was pregnant with you. Your dad was the one that convinced me we could do it, be a family and figure things out along the way. I’m not saying this to upset you, but I honestly don’t think I would have gotten married so young if I wasn’t already pregnant… and I was a lot older than you are right now.” 

Jughead mulled her words over, and tried not to let them negatively affect him. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, me and Betty haven’t even talked about getting married.” Just saying _Betty_ and _married_ in the same sentence was enough to overwhelm him, in both thrilling and terrifying ways. “I’m pretty sure the last time I heard her mention marriage at all was, like, a year ago, and that was only so she could agree with Veronica that getting married before she was finished with college was a bad idea.”

“Yes, well… I’m sure having kids was an ‘after college’ plan for her, too. And yet…”

“Here we are.” Jughead said glumly.

Gladys put her hand on Jughead’s shoulder. “Whatever happens, Jug… I know you’re going to be okay.”

This time, Jughead didn’t feel the need to move out of his mother’s touch.

……. 

Jughead was so tired by the time he and his mother went back inside, that he crashed on the couch without a second thought, only sparing a moment to tell his mom she could sleep in his and Betty’s bed.

(She slept in FP’s bed. FP was trying to be gentlemanly despite his obvious lack of comfort, so he sluggishly trudged into Jughead’s bed.)

By the time Jughead woke up, Gladys and FP were already at the kitchen table and deep into piles of paperwork and notes with Mary Andrews - _and_ Sierra McCoy, for reasons he couldn’t comprehend. Jughead felt worry for his dad increase, but decided not to ask; it hadn’t gotten him anywhere so far, so what would be the point of trying again now?

He’d have to wait for his dad to come to _him._

Cheryl drove Betty over to their house around lunchtime, and Jughead distracted her from worrying about Veronica by taking her out to check out his mom’s Combi. She was amazed by the engine, and the mechanics, and the lack of rust - truthfully Jughead had no idea what she was talking about, but he was just happy to see her so animated.

When they returned to the house, the two lawyers were long gone and Gladys announced she, too, had to leave. She gave Betty a quick hug; Betty blushed and said a quiet _“thanks”_ as Gladys whispered something encouraging into her ear. She even spared a quick embrace for FP; though there was still clearly a lot of tension between the two, they were smiling wryly at each other as she turned to Jellybean.

“Why do you have to leave? You only just got here.” Jellybean’s voice wavered, and she rubbed one of her eyes quickly to hide the tears building up.

Gladys’ voice softened. “I’m not going to be gone forever. Soon I’ll be able to move back here… it’s just taking a while to sort out some work stuff… but I’ll be around more often when I can, I promise.”

_“Stop.”_ Jellybean said, taking a step away from her. “You’re always making promises you don’t keep!” 

“JB—”

“No!” Jellybean wasn’t hiding her tears anymore as her face twisted into a scowl. “I know your ‘work stuff’ is just a bullshit excuse—”

FP cut in unsuccessfully. “Jelly, don’t talk to your mother like that!”

“—for something illegal! It always _is_ with you.” Jellybean spun around and ran up the staircase.

“Jellybean, come back here.” FP called up the staircase.

_“Leave me alone!”_ She shrieked. 

The remaining people all jumped as they heard her bedroom door slam. 

Gladys and FP shared a pained glance. “Well,” Gladys mused. “It could have gone _worse…_ ”

FP gave her a sympathetic look. “I’ll go talk to her. She’ll come back down to say goodbye properly…she just needs a few minutes.” He started to make his way up the staircase and out of earshot. Betty awkwardly excused herself to get something from the kitchen, leaving Gladys and Jughead alone again.

They stared at each other, and though there was an awkward feeling between them, Jughead was relieved to note that he wasn’t feeling as tense around his mother since their talk the night before.

“You can’t put a baby on your motorbike.” Gladys finally stated with a firm finality.

Jughead nodded, a smirk forming on his face. “Betty has already made that _abundantly_ clear to me.” He scratched the back of his neck. “And she has a car, so…”

Gladys raised her eyebrows. “Gonna make her responsible for travelling with your infant?”

“ _No_ , obviously. But we’re trying to save money, and me buying a car would put a significant dent in those plans, so… bike it is.”

Gladys chewed on her lip for a moment, and then a sly smile came across her face. “Would you be open to a trade?”

……

_Betty was even more excited about the Combi trade than I was._

_It was a mutually beneficial trade, according to my mother (Betty whole-heartedly agreed) who was going to be ‘staying nearby’ (in an undisclosed location) and soon needed a mode of transport faster than the old blue van could handle._

_It was only with a small sense of nostalgic grief that I handed over the keys to my bike._

“I’m sure when you’re a famous, ivy-league educated author you’ll be able to buy a much nicer one than this.” Gladys winked at her son.

_After a tearful goodbye from Jellybean, my Mom jumped on my motorbike and kick-started the engine. The sound of her revving it up the street and around the corner rang in our ears as she drove off. With her disappearance into the distance, I couldn’t help the feeling of nervous anticipation that overtook my mind…_

Hours later, Betty flitted about the small van, excitedly inspecting the interior and pointing out the various things he could do with it. “This will be _so_ fun to decorate, Jug! You can hang your posters on the ceiling, your graduation cactus can live on this bench here… oooh or the dashboard! Hmm, that might be too much sunlight actually…” 

Jughead noted the photograph of him and Jellybean at the drive-in sticky taped to the wall next to the small bed. He reached out and traced the outline as he wondered where all the extra moisture in his eyes was coming from… 

_There was, however, someone who was decidedly_ not _excited about my new Combi…_

Alice’s face twisted into an expression that could only be described as ‘mortified rage’ as she emerged from her own car. She took a moment to scan her eyes over the blue Combi, which was still being assessed by her youngest daughter. FP and Jughead were standing back and nodding their heads to whatever mechanical jargon Betty spouted, though only FP seemed to be comprehending their meaning. 

FP lifted a hand to wave at Alice, but his presence went unnoticed as Alice determinedly made her way over to her child.

“Elizabeth Cooper! Over my dead body will you be parading around town with your boyfriend in the _Shaggin’ Wagon!_ ” 

Jughead felt himself cringing.

_“Mom!”_ Betty said sternly to her mother. Alice watched in complete horror as Betty placed her hand on the blue driver’s side door. “It’s not the _Shaggin’ Wagon -_ what are you even talking about? - this is the _Mystery Machine!”_

FP turned his laughter into a coughing fit.

…… 

_Betty and I allowed ourselves some time with our friends at the quarry on Saturday morning before we actively threw ourselves into college and baby preparations. The Summer Sun was shining brightly through the trees, so most of the graduating class spent their time swimming and drinking beside the water._

_Cheryl and Archie were a bit on edge the whole time because of Veronica, and Betty and Cheryl had several whispered conversations about their friend. But in the end, there was nothing they could do while Veronica was hiding in New York and ignoring everyone._

_On a lot of my classmates’ minds was Josie’s final performance at La Bonne Nuit, scheduled for that same evening. I personally spent my evening at home being moral support to my nauseated girlfriend, but the videos posted to instagram proved Josie had well and truly earned her place in the Berklee College of Music; although it wasn’t her original choice (Juliard) or her backup school (NYU), and her tentative plans to move to New York after graduation were now delayed, she was happy to be accepted at an institution that was specifically designed to improve her singing abilities. Sierra McCoy and Tom Keller were pleased that she would have Kevin close by when she left for college, as he’d accepted his own offer to study theatre arts at Boston University…_

_Dad agreed to let me use his bike for my newly minted UberEats delivery job, so on Sunday I started running food around most of the North Side. Within a couple of days Slash and Fangs were joining me on the road, so the South Side officially had enough people willing to deliver in the area._

_Meanwhile, Betty got a waitressing job at the Hoe Zone._

_She went in for her interview, wearing her sexiest pushup bra under a tight fitting shirt and jeans that hugged her ass in a tantalising way. The new owner turned out to be Veronica’s mobster associate Elio Grande, who despite his criminal, underworld ties, seemed to be running a few legitimate businesses. Within ten minutes Elio told Betty she’d have a shift that night, so she spent the next few hours pampering herself to the standards the strip club expected._

“That’s… a _lot_ of eyeshadow.” Jughead said as he watched Betty getting ready at the vanity. 

She met his eyes in the reflection of her mirror, then opened a tube of red lipstick. She applied it quickly, rubbed her lips together and nodded her head in approval. “Makeup is part of the uniform. Speaking of, I’m allowed to choose my own lingerie to wear.” She stood up and removed the pink coat she was wearing. Underneath was the laciest black bodysuit she owned, paired with her shortest black skirt and sheer thigh-high stockings. “What do you think?”

Jughead’s eyes widened. He struggled to find words to encapsulate his objections to her new ‘uniform’ without sounding possessive. “Ahhh… I think… that you should let me drop you at work. And pick you up. In fact, maybe I’ll just hang out at the Hoe Zone tonight,” he cleared his throat. “Just to, you know, make sure they’re following workplace safety procedures…” 

Betty breathed a laugh and rolled her eyes. “I’ll be _fine,_ Jughead. Elio employed some really scary-looking security guards. And I’m pretty sure two of them are South Side Serpents because I’ve seen them hanging around your dad.” She smiled and moved closer to him. “I’m sure they won’t let anything happen to me or the other girls.”

Jughead slowly nodded. “I still want to drive you there.”

“Oh my _God,_ you’re really overreacting.” Betty started to put back on her coat and place emergency makeup in her handbag. “Besides, I thought you wanted to work tonight? I already told you, I’m _not_ getting on a bike.”

Jughead followed her around the bedroom. “Hear me out. I can drop you off in my Combi or your car, then come back and get the bike so I can work while you’re at the club, then, using my _advanced_ timing skills, I’ll return to pick you up in one of the baby-approved vehicles.” He gave her an optimistic look.

Betty studied his face for a moment and sighed. “ _Fine._ But when you see that the area isn’t _nearly_ as seedy as you think it is then you’re going to feel silly for being over-protective.”

“Oh you are _so_ going to eat those words, Betts.”

When Jughead came back to pick her up at 2am, he decided to wear his South Side Serpent jacket and tried to exude as formidable a presence as possible. He leaned against the drivers-side door of Betty’s station wagon (Betty wanted to properly service the Combi before Jughead started driving it everywhere).

Nobody seedy-looking was around, but the dark alley behind the Hoe Zone didn’t make Jughead feel very optimistic. Although she was glowing with the thrill of a new job, Betty agreed that perhaps it would be better if she wasn’t walking out to her car alone this late at night.

…… 

_A few weeks came and went, and Betty and I tentatively fell into a Summer routine. She took as many extra shifts at the strip club as she was offered, and seemed to genuinely enjoy the work environment (she told Alice that she’d gotten a job at a ‘new bar’ on the South Side, and Alice had only stopped fretting when Betty assured her I would be driving her to and from each shift). Elio was impressed with her work ethic, so Betty was fast put in charge of training the other new waitresses (all attractive eighteen to twenty one year olds, for ‘some’ reason) that were hired as the Hoe Zone’s popularity increased._

_There were some terrifying news reports broadcasted from the RIVW._

_Mostly they focused on three teenage girls who’d gone missing in Centerville. It was too close to Riverdale for my own liking, so I stuck with my promise of chauffeuring Betty to and from work. Alice, who was the lead reporter on the missing person’s cases, began giving Betty (and a bemused Jellybean) safety lectures anytime they left the house in the afternoon._

“I swear Centerville is like, not even that close to Riverdale.” Jellybean noted over dinner one night, an incredulous expression on her face.

“It’s only two towns over, JB.” Alice rebuffed, a solemn expression on her face. “The police still don’t know anything about these disappearances. You can’t be too cautious, especially _now…_ ” her lips pursed into a thin line, and she took a sip from her water.

FP frowned as he pushed his peas around his plate with his fork. “They know _enough…_ ” he said cryptically. He cleared his throat and added: “I don’t wanna hear about you running off into the forest alone, JB. I mean that.”

Jellybean rolled her eyes. “Why would I even go into the forest, Dad? It’s creepy as hell in there.”

“I’m serious, Jelly. Don’t go into the forest alone or you’re grounded.” 

“You’re such a stress head - you’re even worse than Jug! Seriously, when did the Jones men become such Negative Nancies… _”_

  
  


_The Serpents met to discuss the Ghoulie problem in Riverdale. However, since they’d vandalised several buildings on the South Side - the El Royale included - the Ghoulies had been laying low for almost a month. Thus, we were all left in hiatus until one of them made their next move._

_The meeting did give FP an excuse to bring up the fact that_ every _member of the gang who was a Senior at Riverdale High had graduated that year. And honestly, I was just glad the Serpents had something to celebrate._

“I have an announcement of my own to make!” FP said seriously as the celebratory cheers had died down. 

Jughead stiffened. Betty reached out to clutch his hand as her eyes widened. 

“As of next Monday,” he said, “I will officially no longer be the Sheriff of Riverdale.” 

Jughead breathed a sigh of relief. He’d known that was coming, so the announcement wasn’t anything to get too worked up about.

There were mixed reactions from the Serpents. Some _whooped_ and hollered, some gave each other nervous looks, and Hog Eye jokingly called out, “Did Lodge finally realise you’re a closet criminal?” A few snickers were echoed through the crowd.

FP laughed. “No, no, I stepped down.” He forced a smile onto his face. 

“But _why_?” Termite asked incredulously. 

Jughead knew the answer: FP had actually quit at his son’s fake funeral after months of butting heads with Hiram over issues on the South Side, but had then decided to remain as the Sheriff until Hiram found a suitable replacement. That day must have finally come, but Jughead wondered how honest FP would be with the other Serpents… 

“Since you became Sheriff, crime in Riverdale is at an all time low!” Termite continued. A few mumbled _yeahs,_ and _exactly,_ and _he’s right_ were said. “You’re the only Sheriff who actually _gets it._ You know what life is like out here and you don’t try to punish us for it!”

“The new Sheriff isn’t going to come down hard on the South Side, I can promise you all that.” FP said firmly. “I’m the one who recommended him for the job, and I can assure you that he’s somebody we can trust to keep the streets safe without dragging _us_ out of them. And with me no longer associated with the law enforcement, I’m free to help protect the South Side from threats, like the Ghoulies, if things get… _lawless.”_

Sweet Pea shouted. “Yeah!” And a few members (all making noises of approval) agreed with him.

“We’ll also have several new deputies joining the Sheriff’s department next week, all of whom are _residents_ of the South Side and have been training with us for the past two years as part of a program started by my son, Jughead.”

Jughead raised his eyebrows in shock. 

“Now that it’s official, I want to introduce you all to the _new_ letter of the law on the South Side: Tonsils, Jinx, Old Deuteronomy, Weasel and Fangs.”

There were more cheers from the Serpents. Jughead and Betty clapped enthusiastically, and Jughead couldn’t help but be happy for his friends. The young Serpents being on the right side of the law was what he’d hoped to achieve when he’d suggested the Junior Deputy program to his dad, and he was relieved to hear that they’d actually successfully done so.

Jughead did find it odd that Sweet Pea and Termite weren’t made into actual deputies, until he discovered later that both were planning to go to college. He wasn’t surprised Sweet Pea got into college, but the ex-Ghoulie and quick tempered Termite’s sudden desire for higher education surprised him a little… 

_……_

_“This is Alice Smith, reporting for RIVW. In breaking news this evening, the Sheriff’s Department in Centerville is enforcing a town-wide curfew of 7 o’clock PM, after the disappearance of 19 year old NYU Student April Lambert. She is the fourth teen to disappear from the area this month under suspicious circumstances. It is believed that she was visiting Centerville with friends to celebrate a successful first year in college; friends of April last saw her leaving Frigid Forest through the walking track at midnight on Saturday, and CCTV cameras caught her entering and exiting her room at the Last Resort Hotel at approximately two AM on Sunday morning. Local law enforcement are appealing to the public for information, and are considering the possibility that her disappearance is linked to the disappearances of missing fifteen year old Tricia London, seventeen year old Parvati Dasgupta, and eighteen year old Lia Sheridan. Centerville’s Sheriff, Lyle Lansdown released a statement earlier today, stating that he has not ruled out the possibility that the girls have been abducted, possibily by the same person, and is questioning Registered Sex Offenders known to have been in the area when the girls disappeared. But some residents of Centerville are convinced the teens’ disappearances are linked to an increase in gang activity in Centerville…”_

…… 

Jughead waited outside the discreet back entrance to the Hoe Zone. He leaned against Betty’s station wagon, and crossed his arms as a trio of drunk twenty-something year old men walked by, laughing obnoxiously and playfully shoving each other. 

He hoped his scowl was intimidating.

When Betty emerged, her face was a picture of delight as she practically skipped over to the car; her body was covered by her pink coat, though Jughead knew if she took it off she’d be dressed in revealing black lingerie.

“We had a Bachelor party come in tonight, and I made triple digits in tips, Jug! I’m taking that _straight_ to the bank tomorrow morning.” She announced happily as she moved to the passenger seat. “At this rate we may actually have a decent amount of money to take with us to New Haven!”

_I tried not to overthink her paycheck that week._

_Finding a better paying job than UberEats wasn’t easy, and after three weeks of delivering food it was still my only source of income. I was still one of the only drivers willing to deliver in the South Side, so I spent a lot of time driving around there on Dad’s motorcycle. Lunchtime trips between Pop’s and the El Royale (re-named the Andrews Community Center as of the second week of Summer - Jellybean had even gone to the ‘renaming’ party with her friends) were my most common jobs, second only to delivering pizza to the prison guards at Lodge Detention Centre._

_Of course, thanks to this job I quickly learned which of my friends were developing UberEats addictions._

“You’re not allowed to judge me.” Kevin said, after Jughead delivered sushi to him for the eighth day in a row. “Working and preparing for college has been crazy, and fish oil is good for the brain.”

Jughead smirked as he handed him the bag. “Don’t you usually need to get concentrated fish oil from capsules for it to work?”

“I said no judgement, Jughead!”

_I was steadily making money, but it still wouldn’t be enough to raise a baby in college._

_The closest I came to a new job was when I had a trial shift at the Bijou one quiet Wednesday afternoon._

_It was all going so well - the manager seemed particularly impressed with the skills I gained by working at the Twilight Drive-In - until three seperate groups of teenage girls recognised me from mine and Betty’s sex tape (which was unfortunately still circulating on adult websites). One girl even asked me if getting into porn was hard, or if she should just upload her videos to RedTube and hope for the best._

_The manager’s face had well and truly darkened by the end of my shift, and her eyes narrowed as she told me she’d ‘give me a call if I was successful’._

_At least I still got paid._

_……_

_“This is Alice Smith of RIVW, reporting live from the Riverdale Sheriff’s Department. In his first official statement since taking over the position from former Sheriff Jones, Sheriff Keller has implemented a curfew of 8 o’clock PM which bans residents from entering Fox Forest, Eversgreen Forest or Pickens Park, similar to the one recently enforced in Centerville. Residents may still attend local businesses and private properties, so long as they don’t linger on the streets uncessarily. Sheriff Keller has openly declared this is merely a safety precaution while he investigates the disappearances of fifteen year old Ellen Ellison, and her fourteen year old sister Eliza Ellison-Mates. The girls were reported missing by staff at the Andrews Community Center merely twenty four hours ago. However, Child Protective Services fear that the teens may have disappeared sometime in late June. The girls reportedly ran away from their foster home at the end of the school year, and the director of the Andrews Community Center raised the alert when children who frequent the center expressed their concerns for the girls’ welfare. Long-time Foster Carers Michael and Shelly Bates are currently being detained in Sheriff's custody for multiple charges, including child endangerment and neglect…”_

_……_

Pop Tate re-organised the rosters at the diner to suit the workers’ Summer schedules, so Betty ended up working three lunch shifts a week. Wednesdays and Thursdays quickly became insane for her, as she worked all day at the diner before finishing off the night with a shift at the strip club. Pop’s Chocklit Shoppe was always busy and full of kids, but the Hoe Zone only really kicked off over the weekends. She worked there almost every night, but on Mondays (her one day off) she usually hung out with Kevin or Polly, and caught up on sleep. 

She got hit on more often at the Hoe Zone, but in a strange way that was better than the customers’ reactions to her at Pop’s. At Pop’s she was on the receiving end of angry stares from concerned parents, or was ogled by groups of teens who giggled when she served them their milkshakes. If she had a dollar for every time she got childish giggle and _‘You,’_ as a response to her polite: _‘Can I get you anything else?’_ then she’d be able to fund not only her own University education, but Jughead’s entire degree, _and_ still have some money left over to send their child to a fancy prep school in New York City.

More than once she overheard snippets of their sex tape being played on customer’s phones as they bantered: _‘Is that blonde chick the girl from the video?!’ … ‘No way, you’re full of shit bro - oh my bad, you’re right! Yo, check this out…’_

It infuriated Betty - _six_ teenage girls were missing, and all anyone her age wanted to talk about was ‘ _that Blonde Senior girl’s sex tape with that Weirdo Beanie-Headed Serpent’._

Sometimes, as she leaned across the bar to collect burgers and shakes, she felt the eyes of men, some old enough to be her grandfather, sliding over her; their gazes often lingering on her growing chest. At least when she was at the Hoe Zone, the sexualised stares and remarks she received were often followed by sleazy men slipping cash into the waistband of her skirt… 

Cheryl went to New York for a weekend, and when she returned she was no more certain of what Veronica was doing than she’d been when she’d left. Betty was glad Cheryl’s first order of business was to get lunch from Pop’s with her entire household, because it meant Betty didn’t have to wait any longer to learn what had become of Veronica over the past few weeks.

“I’ve never seen someone so… _determined_ to avoid the truth!” Cheryl announced on that sunny afternoon at Pop’s. Betty frowned as she served Cheryl a strawberry milkshake. 

Polly and Toni exchanged nervous glances from across the table. 

“Is she going to come back?” Toni asked, a surge of worry present in her voice. 

“I don’t know, TT…” Cheryl cuddled Juniper closer to her chest - the little girl was napping on her aunt's shoulder, happy that she’d returned from her ‘holiday’. “She’s already started moving furniture into our apartment. By the way, Betty, did you know the Lodges own, like, ten percent of the real estate in New York?” 

Betty _didn’t_ know that… it had been three weeks of silence: she wasn’t sure she knew anything about her best friend anymore.

“Hermosa set us up with a penthouse in one of her newly-acquired apartments… it’s close to Barnard _and_ Highsmith, and it overlooks Central Park… Hermosa’s really not that bad when she’s not trying to cause upheaval in our rum business…”

Betty tried not to let any tears fall as she moved on to take the orders of the next booth.

_……_

  
  


“Boy, this has to stop.” 

Jughead was just on the cusp of sleep, his arms securely around Betty, whose soft breathing provided a soothing reprieve from the _go go go_ mood his brain was in. “What?” He groaned, and lifted the arm not trapped by his girlfriend to rub his eyes.

_“This.”_ FP said. He stood over them in his grey dressing gown, and indicated to the young couple lying on the lounge. “You have a bed, which I know from experience is a lot more comfortable than this couch.” 

Jughead lifted his head a little more. “It’s just…” he tried to find the words to describe how disturbed he felt with the knowledge that his and Betty’s most intimate moments were exposed from the one place in the world that _should_ have been the safest.

There were none.

FP sighed and sat down on the armchair next to them. “Jug, I know you’re uneasy in there. _Believe me_. But it’s not healthy for you _or_ Betty to live in fear of sleeping in a bed. Do you think Betty wants to sleep on the couch down here forever?”

Jughead ducked his head down. “This was her idea…”

FP leaned forward. “I’m sure she suggested it to make you feel safer. That girl loves you like nothing I’ve ever seen, Jug. And I know for a fact she’d do anything for you. But, look at her…” he nodded to Betty’s pale face. “She’s worn out, and sick, and she needs proper sleep… that’s going to be a lot easier to get in your bedroom.” 

FP didn’t push the point any further, but as he made his way up the stairs and heard Jughead waking Betty, he allowed himself a feeling of relief. 

…….

_Betty was pleased to be back in our bedroom over the coming days. Her body was starting to get sore from sleeping on the couch, and it made her constant dashes to the toilet a lot easier._

“Not that I mind, Jug.” She reassured him. “If you change your mind and don’t want to sleep in here, I’ll happily rejoin you downstairs.” 

Jughead was pleased that the thought of sleeping in their room wasn’t as nauseating as it had been before graduation. He only hoped it would stay that way.

_Shortly after we graduated, Jellybean was taking up a new breakfast cooking adventure that led to Betty discovering that the only food she could stomach was scrambled eggs. When three hours had passed and she still hadn’t thrown up, she announced to me that if she had to live off of eggs for six more months then so be it._

_I was glad she was eating_ something _consistently, but after three weeks I noticed several things that left a lot of red flags in my mind._

_Betty ate… but not much. Even when she_ did _eat, despite her glee at being able to keep down eggs - and orange juice, apparently - she was_ still _throwing up. A lot. So much so that one morning she threw up so hard she burst a blood vessel in her eye._

“Betty, this isn’t normal.” Jughead said, his voice thick with worry.

But she wasn’t in the mood to argue. “Have you _had_ a baby before, Jug?” She said frostily. “My apologies, I wasn’t aware you were such an expert on _normal_ pregnancies.” She angrily fastened the buttons on the front of her yellow diner doll uniform, and pulled her ponytail far too tight.

Jughead tried not to let himself get annoyed, but it was becoming increasingly difficult as Betty’s mood swings got worse…

That night, he found her crying into her pillow on their bed. He sat down next to her and rubbed her back, a mixture of bewilderment and concern overtaking his senses. 

“I’m, going to—” She hiccuped, “—be such—” _Sob,_ “—a bad mom! How could I have done this to our baby, Jug.” She continued to cry inconsolably.

Jughead stroked her hair. “Done… what, exactly?”

“The _sushi_ Jug!” She kept crying; her shoulders shook almost violently. “Polly told me I can’t eat sushi while I’m pregnant. But Me and Jellybean made sushi and I ate it and now our baby is going to get listeria and _die._ ”

Jughead shook off the mental image of Kevin holding a bag of sushi and saying: _Don’t judge me!_ He tried to remember Betty eating _anything,_ let alone sushi. A spark of memory flickered in his head. “Betty… that was _weeks_ ago… you didn’t even know you were pregnant then.”

His calming voice did nothing to help soothe her. “I should have _known_ I was pregnant, Juggie. Women are meant to know these things!” She sniffled, and wiped her eyes. “We’re meant to know what we can’t do, what we can’t eat, how we can’t use the shower if it’s too hot - and only _now_ am I finding out all the ways I’m putting our baby in danger!”

Jughead discreetly pulled out his phone to google whatever the hell ‘listeria’ was. “Betts… you can’t eat sushi because listeria comes from raw fish and it’s bad for pregnancies. But you and JB made _cooked_ tuna sushi, and it was home made - you basically just made tuna with rice, which you _are_ allowed to eat. See?” He held the phone up to her face, and she looked at the screen with sceptical eyes.

Her eyes scanned the phone screen, then filled with tears again. “You’re right… oh my God… you’re already a way better parent than me.” She quickly turned her face away and went back to crying into the pillow.

Jughead kept stroking her, hoping a guidebook to dealing with pregnant people would fall out of the sky and into his lap.

_As it turns out, there are hundreds of parenting and pregnancy books available on the internet. I ordered a few of them from Glamazon.com, sad to see my dollars disappear but happy that they were being used as an investment in our future…_

A few more days passed, and Jughead found himself cuddled up to Betty’s back at three AM after a late night strip club shift. He linked their fingers together where their hands rested above her belly button.

Betty’s breathing slowed, and Jughead felt himself drifting off to the sound. His eyes were closed, his body sinking into their mattress as his brain started to turn itself off for the night when her voice floated up to his ears in a sweet whisper. “Jug?”

“Yeah, Betts?” He opened his eyes again and tried to focus in the darkness. Betty’s golden hair looked almost silver in the moonlight that streamed through the window.

“Do you think we should tell our parents soon?” Betty squeezed Jughead’s hand. “It’s going to get hard to hide when I start showing, which might already be happening.” She let go of his hand and took his wrist to guide it lower. “You can sort of feel it, right?”

Jughead ran his hand along her abdomen. “I mean… it feels kind of firmer than usual, maybe?” He paused his ministrations. “Not really rounder yet, though. I couldn’t see a bump earlier.”

Betty breathed a sigh and rolled over to face Jughead. He leaned back so she could lay her head on his chest. “I know… but I’m almost eighteen weeks pregnant, I don’t want Mom to find out from someone else, and she’s getting suspicious. She might have already guessed what’s happening now that she’s past worrying about me losing weight, and nagging me about needing to eat more.”

Jughead wrapped his arms around her tighter, needing to increase the comforting way that the press of her body against his chest warmed him. “Okay, maybe we can tell them next Sunday, before we leave on our trip up to New Haven? At least then we have an escape plan if either of them tries to kill us.” 

It was something Jughead was increasingly looking forward to. They were going to take the _Mystery Machine_ on its maiden voyage and figure out their game plan: on Betty’s meticulous to-do list was: 1) Scope out Yale; 2) Find out where the cheapest rentals are; 3) Hand in resumes to prospective workplaces; and 4) Try and enjoy the alone time together.

Betty laughed quietly. “My money’s on FP. We’re expecting my mom to excessively freak out, but this’ll be FP’s first time dealing with a teen pregnancy. He’s unprepared. Mom’s practically a professional at this point.”

“Hmm, I dunno about that.” Jughead was glad Betty wasn’t watching his face; if she could, she’d be able to guess that Jughead had his own suspicions about FP’s experience with teen pregnancies. “I think we should tell them downstairs. If we’re up here when they find out then your mom will _definitely_ try and throw me out the window.” 

Betty giggled and looked up at him. “I sure hope not, I need you to keep all your bones intact to help me raise this thing.” She brought a hand up to rub his cheek with her thumb. 

Jughead turned his face to kiss her hand. “I’ve been thrown out a window before. I like my odds.”

Betty smiled as she pulled his face to hers. Their lips met lightly before they pulled back and gazed into each other's eyes for a lingering moment. Jughead leaned forward again, and their next kiss was far less sweet… and lasted far longer… Jughead felt his eyes fluttering shut… 

But the lingering fear that somebody could be watching them wouldn’t leave Jughead’s mind. He pulled back as Betty tried to deepen their kiss by tonguing his open lips. She opened her eyes and stared into his. The vulnerable look on his face made a sharp jolt shoot through her heart.

“Jug…” she whispered. 

Jughead wouldn’t let her finish. “I’m just tired, Betty. I’m sorry…”

Betty’s eyes swam with sadness. “It’s okay…” she pecked his lips and rolled to face the other way. Jughead instinctively wrapped his arms around her and allowed his forehead to press against the back of her head.

_What is wrong with me?_ Jughead wondered, a slither of panic starting to creep in. He had a beautiful girlfriend, whose hormones were making her increasingly needy in the bedroom… but he just couldn’t get into sex. 

And he _missed_ her. She was right there in front of him, her warm body pressed into his chest, but he deeply missed the feel of them wrapped up together, skin on skin and connected in ways they only were with each other. 

Truly, he just missed the intimacy of _being_ with her… He shook his head. There was nothing wrong, he was probably tired from working so much. He’d just need to do something to get out of his own head and back in the mood… 

An opportunity to break the ice with his mental block arose at Cheryl’s belated 20th birthday. Cheryl refused to celebrate it on her actual birthday out of respect to Jason, so she organised a party a few weeks later at the ruins of Thornhill - which, despite it’s burnt-out, run-down appearance, still held an immaculately pristine pool. In any case, the haunting architecture of the old building was interesting to look at.

Since she’d decided her non-existent baby bump would be ‘too obvious’, Betty was too nervous to wear a tight fitting swimsuit around their friends. Jughead wasn’t about to go swimming without her, so they spent most of their time talking to people inside the empty, charred building and laughing along with their ex-classmates as they dived and messed around in the pool. 

Reggie Mantle proved himself as the worst influence on his friends; within two hours of the party starting he’d convinced several people (mostly ex-football teammates) to do birthday tequila shots in Cheryl’s honour. 

Jughead hadn’t been planning to drink much, but when Betty kept getting questioned by people who didn’t think _“I’m the designated driver tonight”_ was a good enough excuse to not _“just have one drink Betty!”_ Jughead found _himself_ throwing back the drinks that were being thrust upon her. 

Betty felt a bizarre mix of gratitude to her boyfriend for taking the focus off of her lack of alcohol intake, and concern for his inebriated state. But Jughead was feeling decidedly _unconcerned,_ the buzz from the alcohol leaving him with a light, floaty feeling.

“Andrews! I thought you weren’t coming.” Reggie’s voice boomed. He excitedly stood up from his self-made drink station, which consisted of a stack of plastic shot glasses, two half-empty bottles of tequila and a bottle of Red Raven Rum, all arranged ‘artistically’ in a circle on an old table-top.

Archie sheepishly walked through the stone archway into one of Thornhill’s many ruined rooms. “Well, the community center has been quiet tonight, since most of the kids are at least _trying_ to follow Sheriff Keller’s curfew… I got a ride here with Slash, he was doing a delivery to a house nearby anyway…” Archie’s eyes scanned the small crowd of people - only Reggie, Betty, Kevin, Jughead, Fangs, Sweet Pea, Weasel and Munroe were in the room. Most of their other friends were off getting drunk by the pool.

Betty knew he was searching the room for one person in particular. Archie nervously made his way towards them, and sat awkwardly on the ground next to Jughead. Betty took a steadying breath, then leaned across Jughead’s other side to talk to Archie. 

“Veronica isn’t here.” She stated, a touch of sympathy in her voice.

Archie looked up at her in surprise. Not because of her statement, but because it was the first time she’d directly addressed him of her own accord in months. Things between them had been tense and awkward since ‘the kiss’, though both teens had tried to forget about it and pretend nothing was wrong.

“I know…” Archie said. He swallowed, then continued: “I guess, I just…”

Betty smiled sadly. “Hoped she would be?”

Archie nodded then looked down. “I thought since it was Cheryl’s birthday, and she was invited on the facebook event page, that maybe… but…” Archie sighed. “I guess she’ll just come see me if she wants to talk.”

“Just… give her time, Arch.” Betty felt the urge to clench her hands into fists, but she took another deep breath instead. “She loves you… she’ll come back.”

Archie gave Betty a half smile, then looked back down at the ground.

“Nope. Not happening.” Reggie said firmly. 

Betty, Archie and Jughead looked up at him and noted his stern expression. “What isn’t?” Betty asked curiously.

“This! This mope-fest. We’re at a party _._ _Celebrating._ It’s Cheryl’s birthday! She has officially reached her _twenties,_ proving herself to be much older and wiser than us eighteen year old peasants.” He held a red cup to his chest and raised his fist in the air. “And what wise words have I learned from our fearless red leader?” Reggie paused for dramatic effect. “ _I’m in the mood for chaos._ ” He handed Archie the cup in his hand. “Drink! Be merry! _Create Chaos._ I don’t care, as long as you aren’t all laying around being tragic.” He wondered back over to his ‘drink station’ triumphantly, and began lining up another round of tequila shots.

Jughead, who had been quiet throughout the entire exchange, snickered. “It doesn’t sound right coming from him.”

Archie and Betty both focused back on the boy between them. “What?” Asked Archie.

“I’m in the mood for… _Chaos.”_ Jughead whispered dramatically, then let out a single laugh. “When Reggie says it. He doesn’t have Cheryl’s bitchy, self-assured flair.” He laughed again, higher pitched this time and for slightly longer.

Archie raised his eyebrows and looked between Betty and Jughead. “Juggie, are you drunk?” He asked, surprise coating his voice. 

“Pshh.” Jughead said with a flick of his hand. “Nooo…. I’m just drinking for two.” He winked at Archie, then started laughing again. 

Betty couldn’t help but join his laughing fit. “You’re ridiculous.” Betty giggled, shaking her head. 

A soft expression came over Jughead’s eyes. “ _Ridiculously_ in love with you…” he said quietly, then wrapped his arm around Betty. He pulled her tightly into his side and rested his head on top of hers. She smiled and leaned further into him.

Archie quickly downed his drink and stood up. “I’m going to go find the birthday girl… I’ll catch you guys later.” He made his way back out of the stone archway.

“Andrews, get back in here!” Reggie called out. When Archie didn’t come back inside, Reggie huffed and jogged out through the archway in search of his friend.

“Maybe we’re overdoing the PDA…” Jughead said slowly. His brain felt fuzzy - like every thought he wished to speak first had to swim through dense liquid to make it to his mouth.

Betty shook her head against his chest. “You hugging me is hardly going overboard.” She leaned back a little to look up at him. “Although… I’m open to more PDA if you’re interested.” She smirked and tentatively placed one of her hands on his jean-clad thigh. 

Instead of laughing and brushing her affections off, however, he leaned down and slowly kissed her neck. _That_ was new - they’d given each other light pecks on the lips in front of others, and held hands, and cuddled up together on couches at parties or the rec room at school - but that was it. They were only ever ‘appropriately’ affectionate in public, choosing to express their true passions for when they were in private. They’d semi-made out in front of Archie and Veronica after one too many champagnes at the Pembrooke once, but honestly, compared to those two, Betty and Jughead were barely scraping the surface of uncomfortable-for-everyone-around-them levels of PDA.

So when Jughead, instead of pulling away, continued to kiss down Betty’s neck, Betty felt a mild thrill, and a touch of nerves. “Juggie…” she whispered, feeling suddenly energised. “Our friends are right here…” 

Jughead moved up her neck and kissed her cheek. “I know…” he kissed her on the lips, a long-lasting and sweet kiss. “But… I miss you.” He kissed her again, and Betty felt it all the way to her toes.

“I’m right here…” Betty wrapped her arms around his neck. “You don’t need to miss me.” She touched her forehead to Jughead’s.

He closed his eyes, revelling in the feeling of her in his arms. “No… I mean I _miss_ you.” His voice was a soft, desperate whisper. “I miss… your touch.” 

Betty knew he wasn’t talking about holding hands. “Jug… how drunk are you?” She asked softly.

Jughead shook his head slowly, not opening his eyes. “I’m not _that_ bad, honestly… not like at Archie’s party.” He let out a laugh. “That level of drunk gave me a whole other alter ego. I’m okay now, honestly…” he pressed his hands into her back and pulled her tighter towards him. “I just… miss you. I _want_ you.” He kissed her again.

Betty felt herself melting into his lips. Truly, she understood what he meant. It had been over a month now and they’d barely gone further than making out. And especially now that everything was changing, and their lives were about to get crazier and crazier, she was craving their usual intimacy… 

Suddenly, Betty and Jughead both jolted in shock. A shrill squeal burst out of Betty as Jughead grumbled: _“The fuck?!”_ Laughter broke out amongst the group of friends in the room, as well as a few snickers disguised as coughs.

Jughead’s tipsy brain was slow to process what had happened, so he stared at Betty in confusion as she wiped her eyes. Someone had poured _water_ over the couple. Betty blinked in confusion, trying not to shiver with the chill of the cool water as she looked up at the figure towering over them.

“Get a room, honestly.” Chuck Clayton said, rolling his eyes.

Betty raised her wet eyebrows. “Did you _seriously_ just pour water over us?” Jughead frowned and looked up at him.

Chuck smirked, but it was another voice behind him that spoke. “Nope! I did.” Reggie emerged from Chuck’s shadow, grinning like the Cheshire cat. “It was getting far too hot in here, and since neither of you nerds were going to get in the pool…” he proudly held an empty red bucket in the air. “I thought I’d bring the pool to you.”

“This is…” Betty stared at Reggie incredulously. “Are you _twelve?”_

“Plus _six!”_ Reggie said triumphantly. He held out a fist to Chuck, who rolled his again and half-heartedly bumped fists with him.

While their friends continued to laugh, Jughead shuffled as if to stand, then promptly lost his balance and landed right back where he started. “If I wasn’t six shots in…” Jughead murmured, sliding closer to Betty on the stone floor. “I would kick both of their asses.”

Betty sympathetically patted his cheek as she smoothed out her near-soaked purple sundress. “My hero…”

….. 

  
  


“Thanks for the ride home, B.” Josie said from the backseat of Betty’s station wagon. Her voice was groggy, as though it was a struggle to formulate her sentences - probably due to overusing her vocal chords.

_Unsurprising,_ thought Betty, _since her and Kevin have been talking so much crap the whole drive._ “Anytime, Josie.” 

“I gotta say… say same Betty… you rock.” Archie piped up from Josie’s right. Betty glanced up at the rear-vision mirror and noted that Archie’s face was squished up against the window next to him.

Jughead started laughing in the front seat. “Heh… thanks for driving _me_ home Betty.”

“That doesn’t _count_ Jughead.” Kevin said. Though he was as drunk as the other passengers in the car, he was by far the most eloquent. “You live with Betty already. She _has_ to drive you home.”

“Um, _rude,_ Kev.” Said Josie, her words coming out slurred. “He can still be appreciate… appreciatative… _fuck me,_ I’m so drunk.” 

“Eewww Josie, no thanks.”

“I didn’t mean that _literally,_ you psycho.” She laughed, and then a cheeky tone worked its way into her voice. “Besides… step-sister sex is _Jughead’s_ thing.” 

Jughead turned towards Betty in the front passenger seat. “Betts, please, I beg you… let’s leave them on the side of the road.” Betty smirked and allowed herself a moment to look at the drunkenly annoyed facial expression on Jughead’s face before she focused back on the road.

Kevin’s mood seemed to be on par with Josie’s. “Betty, that’s not all he’ll be begging you for tonight…” Josie and Kevin both started laughing hard.

Archie groaned. “Do you guys ever _shut up?_ ” He rubbed his eyes for a moment then went back to leaning against the window.

“Not if we can help it.” Kevin said with a sing-song tune. 

Josie continued giggling, then pulled her phone out of her clutch bag. She held up her phone and swiped open her camera, angling it towards herself and Kevin. “Everybody say: _step-sister!_ ” She tapped the phone and her face briefly lit up as Kevin laughed.

“You guys… done yet?” Archie mumbled, not opening his eyes.

Kevin and Josie shared a look. “Nope. I have one more!” Kevin said happily. “Hey Jughead, are you mad that Reggie got your girlfriend wet tonight?”

“Fuck _off_.” Jughead mumbled weakly as Josie continued laughing. Archie snickered, and even Betty had to admit that was a good call. She was, after all, still pretty damp from the bucket of water so she allowed herself a small smirk as she continued to drive through the quiet streets.

“And _now_ I’m done.” Kevin was grinning as Josie’s laughter died down. “Sorry guys, we’re just giving you shit… you know we love you.” 

“Relax, Kev, it’s fine.” Betty said calmly. Annoying as it may be, Kevin and Josie really were just teasing them, unlike the other members of the Riverdale community she’d encountered. Barely a minute later, Betty turned the steering wheel around, and finally pulled into Kevin’s driveway with relief. 

Josie and Kevin seemed surprised that they’d already arrived, and enthusiastically thanked Betty for dropping them home. Betty shook her head in amusement as she watched them stumbling up to the front door.

Once they were both safely inside, she reversed the car out of the driveway and headed in the direction of Elm Street.

“You okay back there, Arch?” Betty asked, noting the screwed up expression on his face in her rear-vision mirror.

Archie grunted in affirmation, his eyes remaining closed. 

“And here you thought _I_ was wasted.” Jughead laughed, turning around to look at Archie. 

Betty rolled her eyes. “You’re definitely not sober, Jug.”

Jughead tapped her thigh with his palm. “Sober is for boring people.”

“You calling me boring, Jones?” Betty smirked. 

Jughead breathed a laugh. “No…” he slowly slid his palm further up her thigh, inching it inwards. “You’re never _boring._ ” 

Betty’s breath hitched, and she was suddenly very aware of her heartbeat. She glanced at Jughead and noted the intense, piercing look he had in his eyes… She blushed as she focused back on the road, then spared a glance in the mirror. Archie _looked_ like he was passed out… but she wasn’t going to start anything with Jughead while their friend was in the car.

“ _Later_.” She whispered to Jughead, and he gave her a heated look that said he would _definitely_ be taking her up on that.

Minutes later they’d parked out the front of their house and dutifully led Archie to his own front door. Mary Andrews had waited up, and was visibly unimpressed with Archie’s drunken state; though she did genuinely thank Betty for driving him home.

“We do live next door. It was honestly no trouble Mrs Andrews.” Betty said with her trademark politeness.

Jughead and Betty walked hand-in-hand back to their own house, and Betty felt a rush of anticipation. They’d only just stepped in through the front door (Betty hadn’t even taken her keys out of the lock) when Jughead had her pressed up against the wall and captured her mouth with his own.

“Mmm… Jug, wait.” She giggled as he moved his lips down to her neck. She fumbled with the keys and tried to quietly shut the door as Jughead’s mouth moved down lower, but she pushed it a little too hard and it rattled on its hinges.

Jughead’s eyes held a cheeky glint. “Shush, Betts. You’ll wake everyone.” 

“And whose fault will that be?” Betty whispered, the humour in her voice evident.

“When I’m done with you… it’ll _definitely_ be yours.” Jughead promised, his voice coming out husky. 

Betty’s skin was hot and tingly where Jughead touched her; she grabbed his hand and lead him up the staircase before one of them started tearing clothes off; they weren’t the only people in the house, after all. Jughead didn’t make it easy though, spinning her around twice on the way up so he could pull her into a searing kiss, and lean her back against the railings. 

The second their bedroom door was locked, Jughead was lifting Betty up into his arms. Betty wasted no time in wrapping her legs around his hips, and placed her hands on his cheeks. Their kisses were hot and open mouthed as Jughead reached the bed. They fell onto the covers unceremoniously, and Betty tried to stifle her giggles at Jughead’s clumsy attempt to pull off his shirt.

“Need help?” Betty smirked at him.

“I got this.” Jughead’s voice was muffled behind the material. He kneeled so he had more room, then as he freed his torso he cheered: “Woo!”

Betty clamped her hand over his mouth. “ _Shush_ Juggie.” 

“Oops…” he said through her hands. 

She bit her lip to stop herself from laughing out loud. They’d been interrupted and put off of sex so often lately that she didn’t want to risk waking their parents and killing the mood. Keeping Jughead quiet might prove to be the real challenge, though… 

“Your dress is cold.” He told her as his chest collided with hers.

“It’s still kind of damp.” She murmured quietly, pushed his shoulder, and rolled them over. “Let me take it off so I can warm you up…” 

Jughead watched as she slowly peeled her dress up and over her head. The heat between her legs as she straddled him, the contrast of her lacy black bra against her white skin, the way she shook out her golden hair after tossing her dress to the side - the mere sight of her sent his brain into incoherent nonsense; the only thing he was capable of thinking was ‘yes’ _. Yes yes yes yes…_

Perhaps it was the alcohol affecting his brain, or his sheer intoxication with Betty that did it, but Jughead found his thoughts and feelings couldn’t catch up with his body. His insides were all heat and want and _need_ , but his breath was coming out in gasps. 

But, he realised, they weren’t the _good_ kind of gasps, like the ones Betty was making as he reached his hands up to kneed her breasts. They were the kind of gasps he’d make if he was struggling to bring in air… 

… which, to be honest… he _was._

Betty leaned forward to kiss his bare chest. Her kisses were warm, but Jughead suddenly felt cold. Too cold, as though all the heat was being sucked out of him. He let his hands drop to his sides as Betty continued trailing kisses down the slope of his chest, then his stomach, and below his navel. He wanted to halt her, to make her pause because _something_ wasn’t right - but he couldn’t get the words out. They were trapped, caught in his throat as he struggled to breathe.

Just before she reached the waistband of his jeans, Betty looked up at Jughead, expecting to see his eyes staring down at her in wonton anticipation. So when she saw, in his eyes, an expression that looked _nothing_ like desire, and _everything_ like fear, she stopped her ministrations and unwrapped herself from his body. 

“Jug.” She leaned down and placed her hand on his shoulder. He was tense, and flinched away from her hand as he sat up. “What’s wrong? Did I do something?”

Jughead forced his frantic brain to focus. “No.” He choked out, and stumbled off the bed. “I just need… one second.” He hurried over to the bathroom and quickly locked the door behind him.

Jughead turned the tap on at the sink, and splashed some cold water on his face. _Get it together._ He told himself, and glared at his reflection in the mirror. 

“Jug?” Betty’s muffled voice came through the door. She tried turning the handle unsuccessfully.

“I’m okay Betty.” Is what Jughead _tried_ to say, but the words were catching in his throat. 

Jughead leaned back against the cold tiles on the wall and slid down to the floor. Breathing was just as difficult as it had been in the bedroom, but he tried desperately to slow it down. _You’re not having a panic attack over sex!_ He told himself - but his brain and his body weren’t co-operating. The sound of Betty picking the lock on the bathroom door was louder than the raspy sound of his breath; too loud - echoing in his head. He brought his hands up to his ears.

And then Betty was there, covered by his discarded T-shirt and crouching in front of him, bobby pin between her fingers.

“Go away…” he said weakly.

Betty’s eyes were wide, though she was making a great attempt at keeping her face calm. “What’s happening?” She moved her hand as if to reach out and touch him, but slowly moved it back.

There was a knocking sound, and then FP’s voice called out from the bedroom doorway. “Are you two okay in here?” Jughead could hear the voice, but he was too far in his own head to even attempt to stop FP from coming inside. 

Betty left the bathroom, and Jughead was gloriously alone for only ten seconds before it was his dad crouching down infront of him. FP had an intense fear in his own eyes as he took one of Jughead’s hands and tried to remember the breathing techniques for panic attacks he hadn’t needed to use on his son for years… 

…. 

Jughead didn’t want to talk about what happened the next morning; he was still exhausted, and a little hungover, so Betty didn’t push the point as she made scrambled eggs for them both. 

But as they ate breakfast in uncomfortable silence, a raising sense of anxiety fluttered throughout Betty’s body. In fact, it was this anxiety and worry over her boyfriend that Betty blamed for her inability to keep down her new favourite food.

“Damnit.” Betty groaned as she leaned back from the toilet seat. She pulled her phone out to check the time, and frowned. It had only been ten minutes since she’d finished eating. She stood up, and felt a little off balance, but she would be late for her shift at Pops if she didn’t hurry up; so she briskly showered and sorted out her uniform.

Jughead was resting on the couch when she descended the stairs, but he got up and gave her a kiss on the cheek before she left. 

“Are you working at the Hoe Zone tonight?” He asked her. 

Betty shook her head. “Nope. It’s Tuesday.” 

Jughead gave her a tired smile. “The days are all blurring together. I never realised how much I relied on school to keep track of the calendar.” He brushed his fingers across her cheek. “Good thing I have you.”

Betty was still smiling as she got in her car, but she couldn’t shake the worry she felt for Jughead. 

She was worried for most of her lunch shift; Pop asked her more than once if she was feeling okay, and she assured him she was fine - but truthfully, she felt _awful_. Her head was pounding, she was flushed in spite of the air conditioner keeping the Summer heat out of the diner, and she’d made no less than four trips to the bathroom to throw up. She declined Pop’s offer to let her leave early, conscious of the fact that her and Jughead were trying to save every penny they had. 

When she arrived home that afternoon, she trudged upstairs to her room and contemplated googling which pain medication she could use during pregnancy; but the phone screen was making her headache worse, so she downed a prenatal vitamin with some water and fell asleep less than a minute later.

It was already dark when she awoke, and her sleepy brain was foggy and confused. She blinked, and tried to work out what woke her up; Jughead had climbed into the bed behind her, and in the process he’d jostled the mattress enough to disturb her.

He’d barely managed to say: “Sorry, Betts,” before she was standing up and running into the bathroom, hardly able to contain the loud retching noises that were coming up her throat. 

It took ten minutes before she felt well enough to stand up again and walk back to bed. Her stomach seemed to be trying to out-do her head in their competition to cause her the most pain. 

Jughead had migrated and was sitting at the end of their bed; he stood up as she emerged from the bathroom. “Betty, we need to talk…”

Betty paused and looked up at him. “About last night?” His panic attack was certainly the only thing _she_ could think about all day, and that was the only topic that had any chance of keeping her from crashing immediately.

Jughead frowned. “No. Last night…” he audibly swallowed. “I was just drunk. I want to talk to you about something else.”

Betty shook her head. “That was a lot more serious than being ‘drunk’, Jug. You weren’t even _that_ much past tipsy.” She took a step towards him and reached out to take his hand. “If there’s something worrying you, you can _talk_ to me.” 

Jughead looked down at their entwined hands. “Betty, I _am_ trying to talk to you.” He shook his head and let go of her hand. “I think you need to see a doctor… this throwing up is getting out of hand.” 

Betty felt a mix of irritation and hurt. “You _know_ why I’m throwing up so much. This is _normal._ ” Betty could feel frustration raising in her body, so she lowered her voice to a furious whisper. “What’s not normal is _you_ freaking out every time we’re about to have sex.” 

Jughead’s own facial expression morphed quickly from concern to annoyance. “I don’t freak out when we - this isn’t about _me._ We’re talking about you.” He ran a hand through his hair, and Betty could practically see the frustration radiating from him. 

“No.” Betty crossed her arms over her chest. “Juggie, I’m _worried_ about you. You haven’t been yourself in weeks. You even said so yourself last night, so don’t stand there and act like you don’t know what I’m talking about.” 

“What? I didn’t say anything…”

“You miss me? My _touch?_ ” Betty uncrossed her arms. “Ring any bells? We haven’t been doing _anything_ with each other lately, and it’s clearly because something is bothering you.” Betty took a breath and tried to soften her voice. “What is it? Are the sex tapes still worrying you? Do you feel weird about doing it while I’m… in my condition?” She lowered her voice to a whisper for that last part, conscious of the fact that the noise in their house travelled. “I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me…”

Jughead huffed and turned away from her. “I was drunk last night. That’s all. And the past few weeks… we’re both just working so much. I’m _tired,_ that’s why we haven’t been…” He started pacing around the bedroom. “What’s _bothering_ me is that you’re in denial that something is wrong with you.”

Betty’s eye’s widened. “ _I’m_ in denial? Are you _serious?!”_ Her voice raised an octave.

“Yes! Nobody is meant to be this sick, no matter what the reason is.” He continued his cyclical journey between the vanity and the bathroom door. “I’ve tried talking to you _multiple_ times, but you keep brushing me off. _I’m_ worried about _you,_ Betty. You’ve lost _so_ much weight the last few months, and you’re meant to be gaining more!”

“Oh, so now this is a weight thing? You sound just like my mother!” Betty’s concern for Jughead’s well-being was still at the forefront of her mind, but it was quickly being clouded by the surge of anger she felt. 

“This isn’t a weight thing! It’s a _health_ thing, Betts.” Jughead was actively trying to keep his own voice down, but his frustration with his girlfriend was making it incredibly difficult. If they hadn’t already woken the other members of the household, they were definitely about to. 

Betty could feel angry tears starting to prickle the back of her eyes. “I’m doing just fine, Jughead. It’s _you_ that has the problem, here.”

Jughead could no longer contain his own anger. “Betty, _stop_ trying to turn this around on me. Deep down, you know what the issue is.”

“Oh, yeah? Enlighten me then, since you’re apparently the expert now!” Betty’s voice raised to match Jughead’s.

“Control!” Jughead was almost shouting now. “You can’t control this aspect of your life, so you’d rather pretend it isn’t happening than admit that there’s a problem!” 

Betty’s fists were clenched hard. She felt the sting of her fingernails digging into her palms. Despite his obvious anger, Betty still saw the regret that was present on Jughead’s face. He’d struck a nerve with Betty, and they both knew it. Both of them were breathing heavily, and glaring at each other. How had they gone from expressing their concerns for each other to practically screaming in each other’s faces?

Thanks to her newly out of control hormones, Betty knew if she didn’t leave now she was going to start crying. “I’m going to sleep downstairs tonight.” She turned around and took a step towards the door.

“No, _I_ am.” Jughead said in a slightly lower, but still angry tone. He grabbed his pillow and stormed past her. “Because even though you’re determined to make me the bad guy, I’m not!” He practically slammed the bedroom door behind him.

Betty could hear the angry thud of his footsteps moving down the stairs as the tears started flowing down her face.

…… 

Jughead woke up feeling even more exhausted than he had the day before. He’d hardly slept at all, spending the remainder of the night cold and angry on the couch. 

It didn’t feel right being down there alone. He couldn’t relax without the smell of Betty’s shampoo pressed right up against his face, or without his arms wrapped around the warmth of her body.

He’d tossed and turned for most of the night, unable to get comfortable, until he’d eventually passed out from exhaustion. Although he’d calmed down somewhat, his frustration with Betty still lingered. He truly was worried about her, but he was at a loss as to how he could help her when she wouldn’t admit that throwing up as much as she did was problematic.

He supposed he _could_ concede that _maybe_ she had a point - he _had_ been uncomfortable with sex for a while… and come to think of it, they really _hadn’t_ been intimate with each other since… when was the last time? He sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to remember when they’d last gone past making out… He frowned. Surely it wasn’t when they were still at school… was it?

He was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of someone coming down the stairs. He looked up and realised it was Betty, and suddenly guilt overtook the anger in his chest. She looked worse than she’d been all Summer - her eyes were bloodshot and red rimmed, and Jughead knew it must have been from crying. She was pale, and the yellow of her diner uniform did nothing to help how washed-out her skin seemed.

“Betty…” Jughead said in a horrified whisper as he stood up from the couch. 

She looked over at him for a moment then made her way into the kitchen. “Are you working today?” She asked; her voice was flat, as though she was holding back her emotions.

Jughead swallowed as he followed her. “Yes… why are you dressed for work already? It’s only nine…”

“I got called in early. Denise is sick and they’re already busy…”

“Betty, _you’re_ sick.” He said, becoming stressed at the sight of her weakly pulling a bottle of water from the fridge. 

She ignored him. “Can you drop me off at the club at eight?” 

“Yes… but Betty—”

“Thanks, I’ll see you later then.” 

“Betty, wait. _Stop.”_ He stood in the way of the back door before she walked through. “Can we talk, before you leave? _Please._ ” 

Betty sighed and looked up at him. “Is it about your panic attack?”

_“No,_ it’s about—”

“Then no. I’m leaving.” She pushed past him and walked out the door.

“Betty, wait. Don’t leave!”

“Bye, Jughead.” She called out behind her.

Jughead watched her, his heart sinking as she slowly made her way down to the garage.

……

“Betty, I called your mother.” 

Betty whipped her head around so fast she heard the air rushing past. “What? Why?” She asked, her voice raising with anxiety as she placed an empty milkshake glass on the bar.

Pop gave her an apologetic look as he walked over to her. “Because she’s your emergency contact, and that’s who I call when one of my workers is sick.” 

Betty rubbed the front of her head. “I’m not sick, Pop… I just didn’t get enough sleep last night.” She tried her hardest to keep down the nauseous feelings running through her body. “And if I leave you’ll be under-staffed.” She hoped how sick she felt wasn’t showing on her face.

“I’ll manage.” Pop said determinedly. “And you’re not fooling me, kid. I’ve seen you going to the restroom so many times today I’ve lost count.” 

The nausea wasn’t cooperating. Betty swallowed. “I’m not contagious…” 

Pop waved his hand dismissively. “And you’re not changing my mind.” Pop looked past Betty. “Ahh, there’s Alice now. Betty, I admire your commitment to the job, but go home. Get some sleep. Make that boyfriend of yours look after you - whatever you want. But I don’t wanna see you tryna come back tomorrow in your state. You take as much time off as you need.” He turned and made his way back behind the bar.

Before Betty could argue, the bell at the entrance of the diner rang out. Alice was walking determinedly through the door, and stopped only once she was in front of Betty. “Elizabeth, honey, look at you.” She held her hand up to Betty’s forehead.

“Mom, seriously…” Betty mumbled. Her mom’s hand felt oddly warm, but that didn’t make her feel any more enthusiastic about her presence. 

Alice frowned deeply. “I’m not arguing with you anymore. You’re going to see the doctor _today._ ” 

Betty wanted to protest, truly she did, but if she opened her mouth she was probably going to throw up again. 

Alice’s face softened. “Do you need to sit down?” She asked, her voice sounding a lot gentler than Betty was expecting. 

Betty looked up at her mother with surprise, and nodded. She let Alice help her onto one of the small red stools, and then laid her head onto her arms on the benchtop. It may have been an entirely undignified position, but the world was spinning, and being in one spot helped.

“Thank you for calling me, Pop.” She heard her mother saying, but she blocked out the rest of their conversation in favour of focusing on her breathing.

She succeeded in holding back the nausea, and lifted her head after a few minutes. She tried to come up with a reason she wouldn’t need to go to the doctors, but another voice cut off her attempt at improvisation.

“Betty, I’m sorry to disturb you at work…” It was Tom Keller, back in his old Sheriff’s uniform with an apologetic look on his face. “I’m going to need you to come down to the station.” 

Betty turned towards him in shock. “Ah… why?” She forced out. 

“I have some questions for you that the FBI need answered…” Tom started.

Alice cut him off. “Can it wait? Betty needs to see a doctor.” She stood up, and Betty was glad she wasn’t on the receiving end of the glare Alice was giving the Sheriff.

But Tom Keller was tough to intimidate. “I’m afraid it can’t wait, Alice.” 

“What business do the FBI have with my _sick_ daughter that is so urgent?”

Tom did a great job of keeping a straight face. “I can’t discuss it here… but, it has to do with the child pornography case Betty is involved in.”

Betty sat up straighter. They may technically be in a fight right now, but she wasn’t about to throw Jughead to the dogs. “I already told the FBI. It wasn’t Jughead who made the videos, and I don’t want to press charges.”

“The questions I have… aren’t about Jughead’s involvement.”

…… 

Betty was surprised to learn there was a _case_ involving her that was apparently part of an ongoing investigation. 

But she was even more surprised to learn that she was a potential _suspect._

She threw up in the trash can in the hallway of the Sheriff’s station, prompting Alice to loudly exclaim that this ‘session’ could wait, as Betty was clearly not up to it. Instead of agreeing, Tom merely gave Betty a smaller trash can to hold while he led them to a room for questioning. 

Betty frowned as she noted it was the same room in which FP had questioned her about Jughead’s death. She felt nauseous again, and clutched the small trashcan a little tighter.

“What were you doing in Greendale on the night of the ninth of June?” Tom asked shortly after he’d gotten the formalities out of the way.

Betty frowned, staring nervously at the recording device between them. “Why… why are you asking me that?” Alice looked at her suspiciously, but mercifully stayed silent.

Tom gave her a sympathetic look. “The videos were posted using the Greendale library’s IP address. Jughead’s laptop was found _in_ Greendale library _\- and_ you were caught on camera less than six hours later entering and leaving a drugstore right across the street from the library.” He leaned forward. “Some might find those facts… a little interesting.”

_This isn’t happening._ Betty thought. “I was working at the time the videos were uploaded.” She said, gaining confidence in herself. “You can verify that with Veronica, who’s already given the FBI her copy of the CCTV footage from Pop’s that night, proving me _and_ Jughead were at the diner until nine PM.”

“Be that as it may, your whereabouts later that night were suspicious.” Tom stated. He softened his tone as he continued. “You haven’t been charged with anything yet, but I hope for your sake you have a good reason for being in Greendale on the same night that a video, classified as child pornography, involving _you,_ ended up online…”

And Betty could see it now - the case a prosecutor could make against her. Maybe that she’d found out Jughead kissed Veronica - the evidence of that was recorded by several of their classmates, after all, thanks to Jughead and Archie’s punch-up a few weeks ago - and in order to get revenge she pulled off an elaborate ruse to frame him for child porn… 

“I need you to give me a _reason,_ Betty.” Tom interrupted her spiralling train of thought. “Any reason that you were in Greendale that night so that when the Special Victims Unit starts hounding me for your alibi, I have one to give them.”

Her heart started racing, her skin prickled with goosebumps and her stomach twisted itself in knots that were even worse than the nausea. Betty gave one last look to her mother, who was eyeing her with anticipation, before she sighed and took the plunge.

“I went to Greendale specifically to go to the 24-hour pharmacy… the same one that captured me on camera.” Betty closed her eyes for a moment. “I couldn’t go to the one in Riverdale because I was afraid I would be seen by someone who knew me,” she opened her eyes and stared straight ahead, “and that they would find out what I was buying and it would get back to my Mom somehow.”

Alice stiffened and looked directly at Betty’s forlorn face. But Betty kept her eyes ahead, not wanting to see the look her mother would undoubtedly give her when she said the next words:

“I was buying pregnancy tests.” Betty said, exhaling loudly. “I snuck out of the house and took an Uber in the middle of the night to go to a pharmacy in another town where I wouldn’t be recognised so that nobody would find out that I was buying _pregnancy tests._ ” Sickening anger welled up in Betty’s chest as she clenched her hands into fists beneath the table. “The Uber app should have recorded the details of my trip and I’m sure my bank statement will show whoever wants to see it that I made a purchase there around midnight.” Betty could feel her nails getting dangerously close to cutting the skin of her palms, but she pushed forward. “And in the hours between me leaving the diner and going to Greendale, I was eating dinner, then having sex with Jughead. Is that a good enough alibi for you, Sheriff Keller?”

The look of extreme discomfort on Tom’s face suggested that he wished he’d taken a job in retail. He cleared his throat, and gave Betty a guilty expression. “I believe so.” He leaned forward in his chair. “Look, Betty…”

“I think we’re done here.” Alice snapped, her voice sharp. Her chair scraped along the floor as she stood up. 

Betty was too scared to look at her.

“You have her alibi, there’s no need to continue this charade.” Alice moved towards the door. “Elizabeth, let’s go.”

Betty sat frozen momentarily, before she snapped out of it and stood up. She placed the un-used trash can on the table in front of her, and refused to make eye contact with either the sheriff or her mother. 

Fear radiated through Betty’s body as she stepped out through the doorway. Her mother knew she bought pregnancy tests. The memory of the morning she’d used them at school clouded her mind. The panic and despair she’d been overwhelmed by as she sat in the bathroom stall and stared at the two positive tests came back to her as she spared a glance at her mother. 

Alice’s mouth was pressed into a thin line, and she was no longer looking at her daughter. Betty could tell instantly that Alice had figured it out - she’d put two and two together and _knew_ Betty was pregnant. But she stayed silent as they walked down the hallway and into the entrance of the building. 

Betty felt like she had to break the silent tension somehow - but the words wouldn’t formulate. She felt a cold, dark sickness forming in the pit of her stomach. She swallowed. “Mom… I—”

“ _How_ did this happen, Elizabeth?” Alice cut her off, her voice clipped. 

Betty’s throat constricted, but she forced herself to answer. “I forgot to take my pill…”

Alice let out a loud sigh. “You’re meant to be going to college, Elizabeth. What are you going to do now? Stay in Riverdale and raise a child off of your wages at Pop’s? You’re so much smarter than that! You have your whole life ahead of you to have kids.” Alice’s voice was pure frustration. “This is exactly why I didn’t want you having sex so young!”

The sickening feeling got worse. “Mom, please…” Betty rubbed the front of her forehead, trying to relieve some of the tension. They’d almost made it back to the car, and Betty was not looking forward to the drive home.

“Whatever excuses you have, save them. I’m too upset right now Elizabeth.” Alice furiously rummaged through her snake-print handbag for her car keys. “Dr Patel does walk-in appointments—”

“I’m not getting an abortion.” Betty said firmly, feeling anger towards her mother rising. 

Alice looked up, visibly offended. “I would _never_ suggest that you terminate, how could you even _think_ that?”

Betty’s heart was racing fast. “Then why are you trying to take me to the doctor?”

Alice raised her eyebrows. “Because you’re _sick_ Betty. And I told you I’m not arguing with you anymore, you’re going to see a doctor and you may as well see the one who specialises in pregnancies. He was your sister’s doctor while she was pregnant…”

Betty was determined to hold onto her own sanity. “I don’t need to see him today, Mom. I already made an appointment with him for my twenty week scan.”

“ _Twenty weeks?!_ How far along are you, Elizabeth?” 

“Almost eighteen…”

“You’ve been pregnant for _eighteen weeks_ and I’m finding out now?!” 

Betty leaned against the car for support. “Mom, can we please not argue right now.” _Am I shaking? Or am I light headed?_ Betty wondered, she held her arm out in front of herself to check.

“Elizabeth Cooper, I am _not_ arguing with you. I am telling you - you are seeing a doctor. You can barely stand up, and if you’re nearly five months along then something is wrong for you to be this sick. Even _Jughead_ agrees, and don’t think for a second that I couldn’t hear him last night telling you the same thing.” Alice crossed her arms and stood in front of Betty. “Honestly the way you two were carrying on, I wouldn’t be surprised if the whole _street_ knows you’re sick.” 

Betty stared up at her mother. Her stomach rolled, and she heaved. She covered her mouth and tried to force everything back down again - but it was no use. She turned to the side and promptly threw up next to the car. 

Betty felt Alice rubbing her back as she continued to heave bile. She tried to stand up straight, but she immediately hunched over again and gagged as she kneeled beside the car. There was nothing left in her stomach - no water, no bile, no liquid whatsoever. But she couldn’t stop. The vomiting continued, and continued… and _continued._ She could hear, vaguely, the sound of her mother trying to comfort her, but all she could focus on was the pain in her throat and chest. 

She tried to take in a breath, but each time she felt an agonising pressure in her ribs. She gasped, and continued to make awful retching motions that made her chest hurt more and more. Her face heated up, and her head hurt worse than it ever had. 

Finally, she stopped heaving - but the pain in her chest wasn’t going away. It hurt everywhere - her sides, her back, the front of her chest. Everywhere was just _pain_.

“Betty, honey, can you try standing up?” Alice’s voice sounded worried, but Betty could only focus on the uncomfortable tightness in her chest.

“Mom…” she choked out. “I can’t… breathe right.” She continued to take in the shallow breaths that she could manage; her ribs strained in protest. “It… _hurts._ ” 

…… 

After delivering sushi to Kevin (again), Jughead decided to take a break. The UberEats app was gaining in popularity in their small town, so he’d been driving around Riverdale for hours during the lunchtime rush.

His legs were trembling slightly from being on the bike for so long, and he felt tingly as he walked up to the front door. The air conditioner was on inside the house, so he heaved a sigh of relief as he wandered into the kitchen and placed his beanie on his head. 

FP was already seated inside at the breakfast bar, reading through the Riverdale Register. “Hey kid.” He said in greeting, his eyes briefly flicking up to Jughead then back down again. “Still liking the delivery job?” 

“Yeah.” Jughead said as he opened up the fridge. “It was getting pretty hot for a while out there, though. I thought about ditching my jacket.” He pulled out the bottle of juice. On inspecting it, he realised there was only a little bit left, and it was one of the few things Betty could drink, so he put it back and grabbed the water jug instead. 

“...too dangerous.” FP’s voice interrupted Jughead’s thoughts.

Jughead looked up at him and realised he’d been so focused on the juice he hadn’t heard what his dad said. “Huh?”

FP rolled his eyes and put down the newspaper. “I said, riding without a jacket is too dangerous.” 

“Oh.” Jughead moved to pull a glass out of one of the cabinets. “Yeah, I know. That’s why I didn’t do it.” He poured himself a glass of water. “What were you so focused on?” He asked, and nodded to the newspaper in front of FP.

“Just checking out some of the ads for work.” He opened the newspaper again. “Alice said there would be a lot in today’s paper, but I’m not really impressed with the options. Still, work is work…”

_Work is work -_ that reminded Jughead a lot of Betty’s insistence that UberEats was a good job for Jughead to have. Still, he felt like he should be trying to find something _more,_ something _better,_ so Betty didn’t have to work so much. Between both waitressing jobs, she was making a lot more money than Jughead; and although he wasn’t so anti-feminist as to think that her being the ‘breadwinner’ was a bad thing, he knew she was anxious that she’d be let go when Elio figured out she was pregnant. If he had a better income, more money coming in, he’d feel more secure in knowing he could provide for their imminently growing family… 

_“Jug._ You got rocks in your ears boy?” FP asked incredulously.

Jughead’s head whipped around. “Sorry, what were you saying?”

FP frowned. “Nothing important… are you good?” 

_No, not really._ Was Jughead’s first thought. “Um… yeah I’m fine.” When FP merely raised his eyebrows, Jughead elaborated. “I’m kinda tired. Didn’t sleep great last night.”

FP placed the newspaper back down. “Cause Betty kicked you out of the bedroom?” His lips twitched, but his face stayed neutral. “Been there, kid. Won’t be the last time.” 

Jughead blinked and shook his head. “No… I chose to sleep downstairs.”

FP snorted. “Then you’re an idiot _,_ Jug.” He let out a small chuckle before continuing. “Look, I’m sure whatever you and Betty are fighting about… it won’t last. You’ll be back in her good graces in no time.” He nodded sympathetically.

Jughead frowned. “How did you know me and Betty are fighting?” As far as he knew, neither of them had told either of their parents… 

“Apart from all the yelling last night, you mean?” FP pointedly raised his eyebrows. 

_Ah…_ “That… wasn’t _yelling_.” 

“Arguing, then. Whatever you wanna call it.” FP opened his mouth to elaborate, but was interrupted by the shrill ring of his cell-phone. “One sec, Jug. Don’t go anywhere, I wanna talk to you.” He pulled out his flip phone, stood up from the stool and started walking into the living room. His voice was significantly politer as he answered the call. “Hey, Ally. I saw the ads, I’m not sure if…” he paused, and turned back to face Jughead. “Yeah, he’s with me now…”

Jughead looked up. _What does Alice want with me?_ He thought, and a second later he knew, with a cold, foreboding realisation that it must be… 

“Betty’s _where?_ Sorry, you’re breaking up.” FP continued, clueless as to his son’s startled expression. His confusion turned to concern as Alice continued to speak. “Yeah… yeah we’ll leave now. I’ll see you soon.” He snapped the phone shut and made his way back into the kitchen, with much more of a frantic energy than usual.

_Please, don’t be something bad._ “What happened to Betty?” Jughead’s heart started pounding as he said the words.

FP’s eyes betrayed his own worry. “She’s in the hospital, Jug.”

……

_Having a loved one in the haunted walls of Riverdale General Hospital is never good news. As a child, I watched my grandmother go in and out of the wards for her cancer treatments, and began to associate the place with sickness and death._

_My little sister had a few stints in there from various illnesses, the worst of which ended in her needing surgery on her ears. I can still remember her crying into my mom’s chest before she was wheeled away._

_Fred Andrews’ near-death at the hands of the Black Hood provided an awful memory of Archie standing in the waiting room, drenched in his blood._

_My own most recent stay in Riverdale General was the result of the Ghoulies beating me up within an inch of my life. And regardless of how self-inflicted it was, I didn’t have pleasant memories of my week-long stay…_

_So knowing that Betty, my fierce, fearless, pregnant girlfriend, was stuck within the cold hospital walls less than twenty four hours after I’d started a fight with her…_

_Well…_

_It wasn’t a great feeling._

  
  


“What room is Elizabeth Cooper in?” Jughead asked the tired-looking receptionist. His stomach was in knots. He had no idea what had put Betty in the hospital, but his brain was having a great time imaging the worst-case scenarios.

His worry for Betty was suffocating, but he tried his hardest to hold it together. Still, he couldn’t help wondering if something was wrong with the baby; but the obvious conclusion was that there was, in fact, something amiss in Betty’s pregnancy, as he’d suspected…

… he just hoped desperately that he was wrong.

Jughead and FP followed the nurses directions. The hospital was small, so it didn’t take long for them to find the room she was in. Jughead stopped outside the door and took a steadying breath before he slowly inched it open.

Betty, curled up on the hospital bed, was one of the worst sights Jughead had ever seen in his eighteen years.

Her mother sat in an uncomfortable plastic chair next to her, slowly stroking her blonde locks, which hung dishevelled around her face. Alice looked up as they entered, but Jughead couldn’t quite tell from her expression if she was angry with him or relieved he was there.

Betty was in a hospital gown, her head resting on a pillow and her eyes shut tightly. She gripped a vomit bag in her hands, and the dim lighting of the room made her face appear pale and gaunt. A nasal cannula was feeding her oxygen, and her hand looked as though it was bandaged. It took Jughead a few seconds to realise that it wasn’t a _bandage_ on her left hand _,_ but medical tape keeping an IV drip in place.

“Betty…” Jughead practically whispered. 

Her eyes opened slowly, though the mournful expression on her face didn’t change. She weakly reached out her right hand, and Jughead moved forward to take it. He crouched down next to her, and Alice’s eyes followed his movements like a predator watching its prey. 

Betty’s hand was cold in his; Jughead rubbed tiny circles on the back of it. He didn’t know what to say to her. She was _clearly_ not okay, so there was no point in asking that. But finding out what _was_ wrong… was almost as scary as not knowing at all.

“I’m sorry…” Betty whispered. Her voice was barely audible, but Jughead could see the tears in her eyes just fine. “I had to tell her…”

“It’s okay.” He kissed the back of her hand, and felt tearful emotions gnawing at his throat. “You’re going to be okay.” He had no idea if it was true, but Betty visibly relaxed and her eyes fluttered shut.

FP walked further into the room. “Alice… what happened to her?” His eyes widened as he assessed Betty’s fragile state.

Alice gave Jughead, for the first time ever, a sympathetic look, before she turned back to FP. “She’s dehydrated, and she can’t keep anything down, so they put her on a fluid drip…” She looked back down at Betty and resumed stroking her hair. “She’s been throwing up almost everything for weeks. They want to monitor her overnight…”

“But… _why?_ Do they know why she’s sick?” FP’s concern for Betty’s welfare was obvious, as was his deep confusion.

“Oh, they have a theory…” she kept her face down at Betty. “But you’ll need to talk to Jughead about it.” 

Jughead stiffened and turned to face his dad. FP’s face still held an expression of confused concern, but there was an air of suspicion to his words when he asked: “Jug, you know what’s wrong? Why didn’t you say so in the car…?”

Jughead swallowed, and he felt Betty squeezing his hand in encouragement. “I don’t know exactly what’s wrong _now…_ but I think I know what’s causing it…” he looked to Betty for approval, but her eyes were still closed. “Betty is… um, that is to say that we’re having…” he swallowed again, and tried to sound confident when he finally admitted: “Betty is probably sick, because she’s… pregnant.” 

FP didn’t say anything at first, just kept looking between Alice and Jughead as though hoping one of them would admit this was all some kind of sick joke. But the serious expression on both their faces, and the seriousness of Betty’s current condition showed him that they were, in fact, being truthful.

FP’s eyes narrowed. “Are you _serious,_ Jughead?” He practically growled.

“Dad, listen…” Jughead said quietly. “It’s not… everything is going to be okay.”

“Look at your girlfriend right now, Jug. Does she _look_ okay to you?!” FP’s voice was raised in anger, but he seemed to be keeping a good handle on his emotions for now.

Guilt started to engulf Jughead. “Please, just, don’t freak out. We’re handling it, okay? We have a plan.”

“A _plan?_ Like the plan to use protection?” FP crossed his arms in front of his chest. “What did I tell you, boy. Don’t rely on the girl. Always wear a—”

“ _Dad,_ we _were_ using protection, we just…” 

“ _Every_ time?”

“Ah… well, not recently…” Jughead’s cheeks were burning. He was very conscious of the piercing look Alice was giving him, and the weak groaning sound coming from Betty’s direction. “We didn’t think it was necessary anymore…”

“Necessary?!” FP’s anger was morphing into exasperation. “I told you _so_ many times, boy. Pulling out doesn’t work!”

“Oh my _God,_ Dad. I don’t ‘pull out’.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?!” The angry expression was back on FP’s face, but before he could continue, Alice stood up from her seat.

“Out.” She said firmly, pointing at the door. “Both of you.”

“Alice, I—”

“ _No_ , FP.” Alice cut him off. “By all means, feel free to tear Jughead a new one, but go outside first. Don’t do it in front of my sick child.” She sat back down next to Betty in a huff to continue her bedside vigil.

FP frowned, opened the hospital room door again, and looked pointedly at Jughead. Jughead, his heart full of nerves, spared a glance at Betty, who was looking up at him with wide eyes and was unable to bring herself to speak. With a feeling of dread, he stood up and followed FP out into the hallway. The door swung shut behind them with an eerie creak.

FP didn’t lead him _too_ far away from the room, just far enough down the hall to be out of earshot. He stared at Jughead in anticipation, and Jughead wondered if he was staying quiet to stop himself from yelling. In any case, FP’s face was growing red.

“It was when I got attacked at Stonewall.” The words flowed out of Jughead’s mouth. FP raised his eyes in confusion, so Jughead continued. “Betty was so stressed about me, and worried that it was _her_ who almost killed me, that she forgot to take her birth control pills for a few days. And even though she was strict with taking it properly… that was enough to render it ineffective.” FP’s expression didn’t change. “We found out the same day I got brought in for questioning for the sex tapes. She’s been… really sick ever since. Our fight last night was basically about that.”

FP sighed and leaned against the wall beside him. He rubbed his hands over his eyes for a few seconds, and when he crossed his arms again spoke in a deflated tone. “I never should have sent you to that school.” He said, his face turning forlorn. “All I wanted was to give you a better chance at having a good life…”

“Dad…” Jughead said quietly, finding that his throat was constricting more than it should be. “You didn’t know… you were just trying to help me…”

“And look where it’s gotten you.” FP’s eyes were getting watery.

Jughead’s chest was starting to hurt. “It’s not your fault, Dad. This just… _happened_.”

FP shook his head and looked down at his shoes. “I wanted more than this for you… you’re a smart kid, Jug. So is Betty. You’re both so much better than this hick town. I told you, I don’t want you to be trapped here, especially not now…”

“Dad, me and Betty…” Jughead cleared his throat. “We’re still going to New Haven when Summer ends. We _want_ to study at Yale. We don’t want to drop out before we’ve even started.”

FP’s head snapped up. “Are you giving the baby up for adoption?” 

“No. We’re keeping it.” Jughead said firmly. It was the only thing he was absolutely certain about.

FP’s brows furrowed. “I’m confused. You’re going to college, but you’re still having this baby.”

“Assuming everything goes okay…” Jughead said, his worry for Betty increasing again.

“Jug…” FP sighed as he rubbed his eyes again. “You’re in over your head boy.” 

“I know.” Jughead said. “But… I always have been. At least me and Betty are in over our heads together.”

FP looked like he wanted to say more, but something behind Jughead caught his eye. “Looks like Betty’s doctor is back.” Jughead turned and saw Dr Patel opening the door to Betty’s room.

Jughead and FP hurried back to the hospital room and walked in.

Jughead had never met Dr Patel, but he looked like the photo Betty had shown him online, and Jughead had read enough about him to know he was one of the only doctors in Riverdale qualified to deal with pregnancies and birth. 

“Ah, is this Dad?” Dr Patel asked Betty as they entered the room. She nodded.

_Dad?_ Jughead stared at Dr Patel for a moment before he realised that the doctor was talking about him _._ _Dad… whoa,_ Jughead mused.

“Is the baby okay?” Betty choked out. She was still clutching the plastic vomit bag as though it held the Crown Jewels. 

“Yes.” Dr Patel smiled. “Everything looked normal. Baby has a normal heart rate, and is growing typically. It seems to be having a great time in there; just wants to cause Mom a bit of trouble.” He chuckled. “Interestingly enough, nausea tends to be an indication that the baby is strong and healthy.”

Betty sighed in relief. Jughead used the opportunity to move closer to her. She reached out for his hand again, and he sat on the edge of the bed next to her. 

Dr Patel checked over the notes on his clipboard. “Now, we do need to make sure that _you_ are staying healthy, which can be difficult with nausea as strong as yours.” He pulled a paper off of his clipboard and handed it to Alice. “That’s a fact sheet for you to take home, Elizabeth, with notes on how you can manage your condition.” Before they needed to ask, he continued. “Based on your symptoms, most notably the vomiting and inability to keep food and fluids down, and due to the fact that you’ve lost more than ten percent of your pre-pregnancy weight—” Jughead and Alice both cringed as they heard that statistic. “—I am reasonably confident that you have a condition called Hyperemesis Gravidarum.” 

Everyone in the room remained silent, all processing the name of Betty’s apparent condition. 

“What does that mean?” Jughead finally asked. 

“Yes, it can be a bit of a mouthful.” Dr Patel said kindly. “It’s basically just a fancy word to describe uncontrollable nausea and vomiting. Women with this condition often need to be hospitalised, especially if they don’t know they have it.” He pointed to the drip next to Betty’s bed. “It’s rare, but it can be managed. This could resolve itself before the third trimester, but some ‘lucky’ women throw up daily until the baby is born - which, unfortunately, is the only known cure.”

Betty clutched Jughead’s hand a little tighter. “Is there… did I do something to make this happen?” Betty asked quietly. “I didn’t find out I was pregnant until I was already past twelve weeks…” 

“No, in my opinion this is completely random.” Dr Patel assured her. “Sometimes you have a higher chance of developing this condition if your mother has had it… but honestly there hasn’t been enough research into what causes it, because it isn’t a commonly diagnosed condition; but nausea itself _is_ quite common in pregnancy.” Dr Patel looked down at his notes again, and started scribbling something else down. “It’s really only the severe cases, such as yours, that warrant extra precautions. You’ll find that you can’t have some foods that trigger your nausea, and you may only be able to stomach a few different things…”

_Like eggs and orange juice._ Jughead thought.

“...and unfortunately, you may need to come in again in a few weeks for more IV fluids. Once the nausea settles down, I’m happy to discharge you.”

“Today?” Betty asked hopefully.

“Absolutely _not._ ” Dr Patel responded. “I want to keep you in overnight, at least, to make sure you’re not still vomiting excessively. The nausea likely will subside for a while now thanks to the fluids and anti-nausea medication, but you still need to take it easy until the pain in your chest goes away. Because, thanks to all that vomiting, you likely have bruised ribs, so I’d like you to remain on bed rest for the rest of the week.” Dr Patel smirked a little. “So no work, and no other _strenuous activities._ ”

Betty blushed. “Okay…” 

Dr Patel wrote down something else on his clipboard. “That’s it from me. I’ll be back later tonight or early tomorrow morning. If you’re feeling sick, or the pain in your chest gets too much, please buzz the nurses. I have it on good authority that it’s a ‘boring’ night tonight, so it’ll give them something to do besides make rumours up about each other.” He winked and said his goodbyes as he left the room.

Alice piped up from the other side of Betty’s bed. “FP, can I talk to you outside for a minute?” She didn’t wait for an answer, instead brushing her hand on his as she moved toward the door. 

FP nodded to Jughead and Betty. “I hope you feel better, Betty.” He said, then followed Alice outside the door.

Jughead sighed and moved around the bed to sit on Alice’s unoccupied chair. He scooted closer, and brushed his fingers over Betty’s cheek. “How are you doing?” He asked quietly. Having a diagnosis, a _reason_ for how sick Betty had become, had eased a lot of Jughead’s stress, but he was still worried.

“I feel awful. But… this IV is pretty great.” She answered honestly. “And… I’m sorry. You were right… I should have listened.”

Jughead’s chest tightened again. “Betty… no _, I’m_ sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. This isn’t your fault.” He reached for her hand again; their fingers entwined gently, and Jughead was relieved to feel her hand warming up to his touch.

Betty’s eyes were glassy as she looked up at him. “Thank you for saying that… but you _were_ right. I was scared… I was so scared of what I can’t control about being pregnant that I convinced myself everything was normal.”

“No, _no,_ I shouldn’t have said that to you.” Jughead leaned closer to her. “I was projecting my _own_ feelings onto you, and that’s not fair.” He took a breath and let himself be honest. “ _I_ feel out of control, like… I can’t keep danger away from us. It feels like people are watching us… especially when we’re alone.” He confessed. 

Betty nodded meekly in understanding. “I can _see_ that, Juggie. I know how much these sex tapes are affecting you.” Her voice was still barely above a whisper. “I hate that our personal lives have been exploited. It’s affecting me too… but Juggie, I _really_ think you need to talk to someone about it. A professional. For your own sake, and also…” she shifted so she could sit up a little better. “It’s not just us anymore… we need to make sure we’re both healthy, physically _and_ mentally, so that we can be the parents our baby deserves.”

“I will.” Jughead promised. He pressed his forehead against Betty’s, and closed his eyes. “I will, I promise. And I promise I’ll be here for you. You _and_ the baby. Through everything.”

“Me too.” She whispered. “I love you Jug… and I’m here for you. I promise.”

Jughead smiled and pulled away from her. “So… I’m not asking you to marry me. When I do that it’ll be _way_ cooler.” She let out a small laugh, and the sound made Jughead feel a little warmer. “But at the risk of sounding like a 1950s period drama…” he slid off the silver band around his right hand’s middle finger. “Will you wear my ring?”

  
“Jug…” Betty understood what he meant. They were young, and there were a lot of things they both still had to do for themselves before they took _that_ next step. It would be challenging enough navigating young adulthood with a baby in tow, let alone a _marriage._ But he was trying to show her without words that he was _committed_ to figuring it all out with her. She smiled up at him. “Of course I will.” She said, her nauseous insides making room for the butterflies in her chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO, a few mysteries there for our detective duo to solve... perhaps Betty’s bed rest can be productive after all?
> 
> I want to finish this fic before the 20th Jan, but will I? Hopefully.


	15. Unsolved Mysteries: the almost-solved edition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty is well and truly, unequivocally, done with being on bed rest. But having time to herself has allowed her to come to some conclusions about the sex tapes, and possibly unravel more of the mystery.
> 
> Polly gives Betty some startling news. A friend of Jellybean’s convinces her to disobey FP’s wishes, which has both dire consequences and revealing results. We get a glimpse of the inside of the Hoe Zone, and Reggie Mantle explains his surprising new business venture. Alice gets in trouble at work after a disagreement over the coverage of the abductions... 
> 
> ... and someone in the family finds a body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning for those who need it - kidnapping and death, and mild references to assault, sexual and otherwise are briefly talked about (but not described)
> 
> Finally we are almost at Yale!!! [assuming all goes as planned ;)]
> 
> Ooo what’s that, another update? You betcha.
> 
> I was going to make this chapter longer but then I saw all the Bughead Prom screenshots and nearly cried so I decided to post this to make myself feel better. I hope it makes some of you feel better too (it probably won’t). And honestly it’s almost 15k words at this point, which is long enough.
> 
> If you guys ever want to give yourself a headache, try and work out the season 4 timeline. I just did and now I think my brain is bleeding. Exactly how long is the time-gap between 4x7 and 4x9? Tell me. Please just let me know.
> 
> If any of my timelines don’t match up with Riverdale’s canon - for the love of God, I tried. Honest.

It only took two days of bed rest for Betty to start truly understanding the phrase “stir crazy”. 

It’s not that she’d never _felt_ stir crazy before - she’d had ADHD as a child, after all, and even in her teen years she was still taking Adderall; but back then she’d had methods of keeping herself occupied and her mind stimulated so that she wasn’t practically bouncing off the walls. 

Being told she had to do _nothing_ for the rest of the week… well, it was proving to be a little challenging.

A few hours after Betty returned home, Veronica texted her a simple: _are you okay?_ It took Betty by surprise, but she came to the conclusion that Cheryl had told Veronica that Betty was in hospital. Betty’s heart fluttered with nervous anticipation as she responded: _I’m okay, thanks for asking <3 I’m on bed rest until Sunday, and our parents know about the baby. How are you doing? Can I call you? _

Betty was hurt by Veronica’s lack of response. It would have stung less if her best friend had merely replied with ‘ _K’._ But despite the silence, Betty tried to remain optimistic; at least Veronica had messaged her at all.

The first day back home, honestly, was bliss. She used her doctor-ordered excuse to stay in her room and ignore most of the world. She could lay down, guilt-free, and catch up on all the Netflix series she’d missed thanks to the hectic mess of Senior Year - and she was so exhausted that she felt herself genuinely relaxing. 

Polly visited her; it was the first time since the house was sold to the Jones family that Polly had been inside the old Cooper home, and she noted the stark differences between FP’s and their Mom’s decorative styles. As the sisters laid on Betty’s bed, Betty felt déjà-vu as she recalled being in a similar position a few years earlier - only with Polly being the pregnant sister instead. 

“I know everything is scary right now, Betty.” Polly had said. “ _Trust me,_ I get it. But that means I also know you’ll get through this.” 

Betty was relieved to have her big sister to rely on to answer pregnancy related questions. And Polly had _plenty_ of advice for her; some of it made Betty internally cringe, such as the tips she’d received from women at The Farm, but Betty tried not to let it show on her face. She was happy to hear, for example, that rubbing cocoa-butter on her abdomen would prevent stretch marks, and putting cabbage leaves in her bra could help her with post-birth breastfeeding pains (she of course did her own research after Polly left to make sure it wasn’t _all_ cult-mysticism). 

During her visit, Polly gave Betty some shocking news about the twins that gave Betty a lot to consider… 

“What do you _mean_ the twins don’t have birth certificates?!” Betty gasped in horror.

Polly nodded, a frown forming on her face. “Well, with home births usually the Midwife will register the birth, or the parents will if there was no assistance… but I gave birth at the Farm with Evelyn’s help. Edgar convinced me that it would be better if I didn’t register the twins, because that way child protective services wouldn’t try and take them off me, being a runaway teen mom and all…”

“And it would make it easier for him to ‘adopt’ them if the twins didn’t legally exist, no doubt.” Betty said sarcastically. 

Polly contemplated Betty’s words. “Possibly… he did always insist that he would sort out their birth certificates for me. But he was going to list _himself_ as their father and Evelyn as their mother… and I was fine with that. I was even fine when he convinced me to give Dagwood to Penelope to keep her from interfering legally… ”

Polly went pale for a moment and her words trailed off. Betty wondered if she was coming to some kind of startling realisation about her time at the farm. 

“The twins are okay now, Pol… they’re safe with you, and with Cheryl, and Edgar never did get to adopt them.” Betty said, the relief that this was the case taking over her senses.

“You know…” Polly said as she looked down at the bed. “I really thought I was doing the right thing by my kids.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. 

Betty rubbed her sister's shoulder. “Of course you were… There's no rule book telling you what the right thing to do is.” Betty decided not to bring up the _numerous_ parenting books and journal articles on cults that were available on the internet; truthfully, worrying that you were doing the right thing by your child was something Betty could relate to.

“Dagwood sometimes calls himself Jason, did you know that?” Polly said, interrupting Betty’s train of thought.

Betty frowned. “I have heard him say that once or twice… I thought he was just confused because he also talked about Jason being his father.”

Polly shook her head. “It’s because while Penelope had him she was calling him that exclusively…” her eyes hardened. “And I recently found out that Penelope was living inside the _walls_ at Thistlehouse, and talking to Dagwood, calling him _Jason_ and telling him all sorts of ‘wonderful’ stories about the Blossom’s incestuously murderous history. He asked me a few days ago when “Grandmother” would come back to visit him.”

“I’m sorry, she _what?!_ ” Betty sat up straighter. She winced as she felt a twinge in her ribs.

Polly’s cheeks flushed. “Yep. Cheryl neglected to mention it to anyone. Oh, and get this - Penelope is not ‘missing’, as we all thought. She’s working at the Maple Club!”

Betty’s mouth dropped open in shock. “How could Cheryl have kept that to herself?”

“Not just Cheryl. Toni and Veronica, too.”

Betty couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “That psychopath was living inside the walls, had access to the twins, and they never mentioned it to you?! She’s living freely in Riverdale when she should be locked up!”

“Well, actually. Toni has a tracking device on her to stop her from leaving the Maple Club.”

“Oh well _that_ makes it all better.” Betty’s nostrils flared.

“My kids were also living with Jason’s dead body.” Polly said flatly. “I don’t think they fully comprehend what that means, but they remember him being in a wheelchair at the dining room table.”

Betty had no idea how to feel about that. “That is… _so_ unhinged.” Betty needed a moment to process what Polly was saying. “We did give Jason a send off in Sweetwater River earlier this year… but I had no idea they were keeping Jason’s body in the house with the twins!”

“Yes, well.” Polly took a deep breath before she continued. “I will forever be grateful to Cheryl for what she’s done for my children, and I’ll never be able to repay her. But finding all this out… it’s just made me realise that I need to pull myself together and be the stable parent my kids need. I’m going to start by trying to appeal to the courts to give the twins birth certificates. If I don’t they won’t even have social security numbers. And having kids that don’t legally exist… it would make it very hard to track them down if someone took them when there’s no paper trail.” 

Betty considered the fact that the recent abduction of several teenagers may have been the trigger for Polly to make that connection.

As it was, Polly had fear in her eyes as she continued: “I can’t have Penelope Blossom getting anywhere _near_ my children again.”

Betty nodded. “We can tell Sheriff Keller where she is right now if you want.” Betty reached out to pick her phone up off the nightstand, but Polly stopped her.

“No.” She shook her head.

“Are you kidding me? Do you know what that woman has done? Polly she killed…” _our dad,_ Betty wanted to say, but the words wouldn’t come out. “She’s an actual serial killer, Polly. We can’t just let her roam free!”

“She isn’t free.” Polly said firmly. “She _is_ locked up. It might not be a jail cell… but she’s not going anywhere, Betty. After a very lengthy, _heated_ discussion with Cheryl and Toni last night I have eventually come to terms with their choices, and honestly - if we turn Penelope in we would be turning in Cheryl, Toni, _and_ Veronica. Is that what you want?”

Betty’s heart was racing with fear and anger. “No… yes? No. I don’t know. I just… this is insanity, Pol.”

Polly smirked, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I know insanity, Betty. This is just… no, you’re right. That is pretty crazy.” Polly let out a humourless laugh. “You know what’s ironic? I didn’t even pick Juniper and Dagwood as the twins’ names. Edgar told me he had a dream that foretold the coming of great twins who would one day lead the Farm, and so he convinced me to name them after those twins as a ‘fulfilment’ of the prophecy.” 

“Geez, Pol.”

“I know.” Polly rolled her eyes. “I wanted to call them Jason and Elizabeth Blossom. So really, I can’t blame Dagwood for calling himself that.” 

“Aww, really Polly? You wanted to name one of them after me?” Betty felt her heart swelling.

Polly smiled. “Well yeah… you’re one of my favourite people.”

Tears welled up in Betty’s eyes. “You’re gonna make me cry.”

“Let’s change the subject then. I’m getting a little emotional myself.” She gave her sister a small smile. “Have you and Jughead worked out your birth plan?”

“Um, not really…” there was a lot that Betty had been avoiding; besides, she still had four months left to figure it all out. “Yale has a teaching hospital, and it has birthing suites…” Searching for the hospital was as far as Betty got, honestly, because as she went through the website for New Haven Hospital, all of the medical terminology and options for giving birth had started to overwhelm her.

Alice walked into the room with a fresh round of orange juice for the sisters, just as Polly was in the process of saying: “To be honest, Betty, I highly recommend a home birth. At the Farm when I had the twins I felt so close to nature, and had total control over my own labour; no drugs, or uncomfortable positions or angry doctors around to disturb the peace of my own incoming motherhood…”

Later, after Alice had returned from dropping Polly back at Thistlehouse, she calmly walked into Betty and Jughead’s room and, in no uncertain terms, told Betty that if she didn’t want to put her mother in an early grave she would be giving birth in a hospital.

Betty wasn’t about to argue about that.

  
  


……..

  
  


Jughead was being extra affectionate towards her upon her return home, which Betty would never complain about. He rubbed circles into her hands, and fiddled with pieces of her hair, and still wrapped his arms around her at night. He stayed as a steady force of comfort over her period of bed rest, and she felt grateful again that she had him by her side.

Pop was understanding, as she’d expected, and had assured her there were enough workers looking for extra shifts that she didn’t have to worry about missing work the rest of the week.

She’d been slightly worried about Elio’s reaction when she called him and let him know she couldn’t come in that week. She didn’t know him well, and he had a dangerous edge to his personality that sometimes rubbed Betty the wrong way; but he was understanding, and pointed out that the faster she obeyed her doctor’s orders the faster she could come back.

_“Truthfully, Betty,”_ Elio had said on their phone call, his voice raised above the background noise of the Hoe Zone, _“you have more brain cells than the rest of my waitresses combined. You’re way too smart to be working for me, so I’d be an_ idiot _if I punished you for needing time off. Please just look after that pretty little head of yours so you can come back next week as good as new!”_

A tad extra, in Betty’s opinion, but an appreciated gesture none-the-less. She only hoped when he found out she was pregnant that he’d be just as understanding… 

And so she allowed herself to rest and relax, and tried not to roll her eyes when Alice fussed over her. Alice hadn’t asked her for too many details about her pregnancy, other than to make sure she was taking prenatal vitamins and check when her next appointment was.

Betty hadn’t seen FP yet, but from the frown on Jellybean’s face when Betty asked about him, she could guess he was still mad at Jughead. Betty decided she wouldn’t add fuel to fire and determinedly avoided bringing up FP’s reaction with the Jones siblings, and instead let them entertain her with their banter. 

But after the second night of being confined to the comfort of her room, Betty found that she was _itching_ for something to do. _Anything_ she could get her hands into. Even just a different view to look at, since she’d already counted every flower on her wallpaper.

Given how nervy he’d become about the topic, Betty didn’t want to bring up the sex tapes with Jughead just yet. But as one of her Netflix shows became background noise, she decided to use her free time to write down her thoughts and ideas in her notebook; she opened to her list of “locker” suspects and scanned them once more, before she sighed and flipped open a fresh page.

_Me and Jughead might have a stalker,_ she wrote _._ A cold shiver ran through Betty’s body. No, there was no evidence of a stalker… just someone who liked to take photos and videos of them having sex… more of a voyeur. She crossed out the first sentence. _There’s a voyeur targeting me and Jughead._ That was more accurate.

_The voyeur knows me and Jughead,_ Betty continued. Of that, she was certain. There was no way someone had picked the two of them at random, _multiple_ times, as the subjects of intimate videos. No, this had to have been planned.

_This voyeur had access to Jughead’s laptop._ Well, Brett and Donna were the obvious suspects in that case. Betty frowned; Joan and Johnathan were involved in the whole ordeal too… perhaps expanding her range of suspects would be beneficial… 

_Someone called the FBI to tell them about the first video._ That someone had to have known Betty was underage in the Stonewall tape. Was it the same person who posted it? Probably, but that would depend on how widespread it was within the hours it was initially uploaded. She’d need to ask Charles for more details… 

_Someone framed Jughead._ That was the most disturbing fact, in Betty’s opinion. They’d made a profile in _his_ name on a pornographic website, and posted the video from his laptop.

_Someone wants to ruin my reputation._ She paused as she re-read the notes. If that was their intention, they’d succeeded. 

Previously, she’d barely even _had_ a reputation from a sexual standpoint. Crazy? Sure. Serial Killer Potential? _Definitely._ But Slutty? They were so discreet (and cutesy, as Kevin described their minimal PDA) with their affections in public, that people seemed to not even know her and Jughead were having sex in the first place before the Stonewall video came out. Fair, since they were still in High School at the time, and not all high schoolers had _nearly_ as much sex as they pretended to. But now… people she didn’t even know seemed to recognise her, and she’d been propositioned by more than one man since the video was released. 

She knew it angered Jughead that it was _her_ reputation that was now so damaged, even though he was equally as naked on camera, equally as having sex in an internet video, and equally as involved in this ‘scandal’ as she was. Betty idly twisted his silver ring around on her middle finger as she considered her now ‘ruined’ reputation. She didn’t _really_ care what everyone thought of her, because a person’s promiscuousness shouldn’t even be an issue. She could have slept with the entire football team and not have felt any different about herself. 

She really just hated what it was doing to Jughead; he was struggling with the small-town publicity, struggling with his personal life being exposed, and struggling with how violating this video had been. And honestly, she couldn’t blame him for being so spooked, what with him nearly being arrested and all…

Betty paused, considered Jughead’s near-arrest and stared back down at her notes. Her eyes widened, and she jolted in realisation.

_Someone wants to ruin_ Jughead’s _reputation._

She drew a tiny star next to the theory. _If Jughead had been charged with distributing child porn…_ Betty thought, feeling cold as she made the connections. If this had gone according to plan, then Jughead would be a sex offender… he’d be on a registry, he’d be kicked out of Yale, he’d never be able to take their baby to school, he wouldn’t be able to get a decent job, no company would ever publish his novels, he’d probably get beaten up in jail, or worse… 

Sure, this tape may have ruined Betty’s _reputation_ in their small town, and for all she knew the tape was going to haunt her forever. But this tape had almost ruined Jughead’s _life._ His _life._

Betty felt fury clawing its way up into her chest, and winced as her body tensed up. She took a few calming breaths to rid herself of some of the tension; it was causing pain in her bruised ribs, so getting angry would be counterproductive. She was on the cusp of something massive here, she could feel it… she’d just need to consolidate her discoveries with Jughead.

She wrote down a few more notes - she was reasonably convinced, for instance, that the person who uploaded the first tape from Jughead’s stolen laptop was _not_ the same person who had sticky taped screenshots of said tape to her locker. The Uploader had a vendetta against _Jughead_ , but the Locker-Fiend seemed to have a grudge against _Betty_. 

But, whoever The Voyeur was that had filmed them at Lover’s Lane, and in their bedroom, _could_ have been the same person, and could also have been the same person as the Locker-Fiend. Or, perhaps, one of them could _know_ the Locker-Fiend.

Her head was starting to hurt, so she put her notebook away for the time being. 

There was going to be hell to pay for all of this.

……. 

Unfortunately, Betty couldn’t confront anyone while she was on bed rest, so she eventually relaxed and lulled herself back into a state of boredom.

By the evening she was bored enough that when she opened her RIVW phone app to tune in to her mother’s 5pm report, she found herself perusing the social media accounts of one of the missing girls from Centerville.

_“...exclusive interview with the best friend of April Lambert, who describes her as loyal, outgoing and bubbly…”_ Alice’s voice became background noise as Betty scrolled through April Lambert’s facebook page. 

She had striking blue eyes and a friendly smile. Her brown hair was down around her shoulders in her profile photo as she looked up at the rather handsome-looking boy next to her. A few worried friends had tagged her in posts requesting that people call the police if they had any information; her little brother was missing his best friend…

Betty frowned as she searched for another of the missing girls. 

Parvati Dasgupta (if Betty had found the correct facebook page) had no photos of herself other than the few group photos she’d been tagged in at larger events. Her profile was a black cat (maybe her own?) wearing a little sombrero, and her cover photo was an artistic snapshot of Sweetwater River. 

_“... has still been no reported sightings of the missing teenagers, and Sheriff Lansdown has stated the curfew will continue…”_ Alice’s voice drifted in and out of Betty’s awareness.

She tried to search for Ellen Ellison, but the girl seemed not to have a profile. Betty searched the RIVW website to check if she’d found the correct spelling, frowned, and decided if she _did_ have facebook, it must be private or under a fake name. She _was_ in foster care, so maybe there were custody or family issues that prevented her from having social media. No photos of the girl were posted by the RIVW…

She typed in the search bar ‘Eliza Ellison-Mates’ _,_ the name of the girl’s also-missing younger sister, but was unsuccessful. _Hmm…_ Betty thought, _I wonder if I try…_ she tried searching for Eliza Mates and changed the location to Riverdale, and found a possible result. _There you are,_ thought Betty triumphantly.

Liz Mates seemed to fit the description. Her profile photo was one of two girls, both with honey blonde hair and deep brown eyes pulling the typical pouty-lipped expression some girls did in selfies. Betty flicked back to RIVW’s website to check their ages. Fifteen and fourteen. She flicked back to facebook and scanned the girls’ faces again on the display photo. They seemed to fit the age bracket… 

Betty scanned Eliza’s profile in search of _something._ She noted the girl had _“live, laugh, love”_ and no less than six emojis in her bio, and she was also a student at South Side Elementary and Middle School. As Betty continued to scroll down the page, something, indeed, caught her eye.

_*1 Mutual Friend*_

Heart racing, Betty clicked Eliza’s friends list. Everyone else on the list was hidden, hinting again at the Ellison sisters’ possible need for privacy. But Betty was still able to view their one mutual friend: 

_JB Jones._

Betty found herself frowning again. Jellybean had never mentioned this girl while the missing person’s reports were coasting the media, so she mustn’t be a _good_ friend… then again, Jellybean rarely mentioned friends at all, unless they’d done something to annoy her. She seemed to be a bit more social than Jughead, and by all means she was certainly more talkative, but Betty did note that at times Jellybean could shy away from people she wasn’t close to - and spent a lot of time on games like Minecraft rather than hanging out with people in person.

Betty considered that maybe she was wrong about the missing girl’s identity, or that Jellybean didn’t _know_ that Liz Mates was the missing _Eliza Ellison-Mates._ But as she investigated further she realised a few other younger teens had commented on Eliza’s profile photos with messages like _“dude were r u”_ and _“can you plz call me back? this isn’t funny anymore”._

One friend had, interestingly, written: _“You finally did it! I’m so proud of you! Those monsters don’t deserve to breathe the same air as you or Ellie. Fuck the system!”_

_Curiouser and curiouser,_ Betty thought. She was well and truly down the rabbit hole now, and was about to look more into some of the friends of Eliza/Liz, when she sensed movement out of the corner of her eye. She tore her gaze away from her MacBook and looked up towards the doorway.

Jughead walked inside, his beanie halfway-askew and an unopened parcel in his arms. “Hey you.” He said casually, smiling at Betty as he made his way to his side of the bed and put the parcel and his beanie on his nightstand. He sat down to start unlacing his boots. “Did you finish that unsolved murders show you were watching?”

Betty managed to laugh and groan at the same time. “It was too gruesome, Jug. I had to turn that one off.” She admitted, thinking about her unsuccessful attempt to get through _Case Files._ She turned down the volume on her phone so that the news report became a quiet background noise. “There was this one episode about a baby… it was so messed up, Juggie. They actually showed the charred body and it got too much for me.” Betty sighed. She usually had a strong stomach when it came to TV gore, but the case involving an adopted baby hit too close to home, and she didn’t want to bring the nausea back. Her stomach had only _just_ settled from all the IV fluids the hospital pumped through her.

Jughead reached out and rubbed her hand. “That’s all good, maybe we can watch it next year…” he suggested.

“Sounds good to me.” She smiled and put her MacBook aside. “What’s with the box?” She asked, indicating to the parcel.

Jughead smirked as he placed it on the bed next to her. “I ordered some light reading.” He joked, then proceeded to open the package. He pulled out no less than five books. 

“ _Light._ Yeah, for you I guess.” She laughed at the grin on Jughead’s face. “Wait, are these…”

“Baby books.” Jughead said, his cheeks turning a little pink. “Well, actually, _this_ one is a pregnancy book, and that one with the blue cover is a ‘fatherhood’ book, but they were all from the baby section of Glamazon…” he started to stack the books on top of each other.

Betty smiled at him. “You’re being very proactive.” She watched as he placed the pile back on top of his nightstand. 

“Well, I did promise you I would be.” He dumped the now-empty parcel paper in the waste paper basket under their desk and then unceremoniously flopped down onto the bed next to her. 

Betty leaned over and planted a kiss on the side of Jughead’s face then went back to her facebook investigation. “Hey, do you know this girl?” She turned her MacBook towards Jughead.

Jughead shifted and sat up with his legs crossed. “Liz Mates… hmm, no… why?” He asked, giving Betty a confused look.

Betty huffed, and pulled the screen back towards her. “She’s friends with JB on facebook… she’s Eliza Ellison-Mates, one of the girls who went missing in Riverdale. I think the other girl in this photo is her sister Ellen.”

Jughead looked over the profile again. “She doesn’t really ring a bell… maybe she’s one of those people you just add because they’re friends with your friends and you see them at parties?” 

“JB doesn't really seem like much of a partier.” Betty said, still flicking through the visible photos on Eliza’s account. 

“Maybe they go to school together?”

“Nope. Liz goes to school on the South Side.”

“Hmm…” Jughead ran a hand through his hair as he thought. “JB has had facebook for a _long_ time. Since she was like nine, to be honest. Maybe… maybe Liz used to go to Riverdale Elementary with JB?” Jughead shuffled closer to Betty. “Why are you so invested with this, anyway? It sounds like those two girls ran away from their foster carers, which is sad, obviously… but it’s not unheard of. I mean,” he picked at the stray thread on the bedspread. “I would know… since _I_ did it too…” 

Betty smiled sadly at him and rubbed his thigh. She felt his muscles stiffen under her fingers, so removed her hand quickly. “It’s just… it’s weird, right? How can these girls have just vanished?” Betty sat up straighter, being mindful of moving too fast and not hurting her already-sore ribs. “I mean, maybe Ellen and Eliza’s disappearances really _aren’t_ connected to the girls in Centerville. Maybe they just ran off to find their biological parents. Their foster parents were arrested, after all… if they were abusive, the girls could have just wanted to get away. One of their friend’s comments makes it sound that way, now that I think about it.”

“They could have tried to cross the border into Canada… if they had a boat, it is possible…” Jughead looked at Betty’s computer screen. “I’ll go ask JB how she knows her. You’ve got me curious, now.” Jughead said, starting to leave the bed.

Betty quickly grabbed his hand to stop him. “She went to her friend’s house.” 

Jughead settled back on the bed, and his eyebrows furrowed. “You know who might know for sure?” Jughead asked, turning his head towards the window that faced the Andrews’ house. “Archie…”

Betty followed Jughead’s line of sight. “Archie? Why, because he has kids their age coming through the Center?”

Jughead shook his head. “I mean, partly. But mainly because he’s the one who reported the girls missing.”

_“What?!”_

Jughead nodded and turned back to face Betty. “Yeah, I thought you knew… in one of your mom’s reports last week she mentioned that the director of Andrews’ Community Center reported them missing. Well, Archie _is_ the director.”

The memory of the news report flooded back into Betty’s mind. “Wait, you’re right. I _do_ remember that.” Betty groaned. “My brain is all over the place these days.”

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up. You’re dealing with a lot.” Jughead said kindly. He wrapped an arm behind her shoulders. “Besides, _we_ haven’t really talked about it much but it’s a hot conversation with the Serpents. The ones who are deputies now are all getting involved in the missing persons’ case, since they’re all from the South Side and know the area. Fangs and Jinx spent the better part of their week searching places off the walking tracks for the sisters in Fox Forest.” 

Betty leaned her head against Jughead’s shoulder. “Okay, but why the _forest_? The Centerville Sheriff seems to be focused on Frigid Forest. That’s the one that connects to Fox Forest, right?”

Jughead nodded. “Aside from the streams that run off from Sweetwater River and create the _mild_ degrees of separation, they’re basically connected.” Jughead thought about it for a moment. “Dad was pretty worked up about the forest too. My guess would be the girls in Centerville all went missing in or near Frigid Forest, so now Sheriff Keller is being cautious about Fox Forest. No-one _really_ seems certain of how Ellen and Eliza disappeared though… sounds like their foster parents might have had something to do with it.”

Feeling a little crestfallen, Betty merely nodded and sunk further into his arm. They remained like that for a few minutes, and Betty considered asking Jughead if they should try looking more into these disappearances, when an ear-piercing, shrill sound echoed out of Betty and Jughead’s phone’s simultaneously. 

“What the - _oh.”_ Jughead said, muting the sound. “It’s an Amber alert.” He rubbed his eyes and unlocked his phone.

Betty snatched her own phone up off her bed and muted the alert. “For Riverdale?” She asked. As she went back to the RIVW app with the intention of closing it, she paused and realised a _new_ face was now on the screen. It was a younger girl, maybe about Jellybean’s age, smiling brightly in what looked like a school photo.

Alice’s voice had been replaced by Sheriff Keller’s. _“...the first few hours are_ crucial _. An eye witness to the abduction is currently…”_

“Betty, _look._ ” Jughead said, turning his own phone towards her. 

Betty took a closer look at the Amber alert on Jughead’s phone. “Red van? Well that won’t be easy to hide…” she paused as she read the name of the missing child. “Thirteen year old girl—Carla Clayton? Wait… isn’t that…”

Jughead stiffened and turned towards her. “Chuck Clayton’s sister.” 

…… 

_The disturbingly wonderful thing about teenagers, is that there is a consistency to their chaos._

_For example, if the local law enforcement bans people from entering a place, then instantly that place becomes the most exciting dwelling or area that the child can imagine escaping to._

_So when Sheriff Keller announced that Fox Forest was off limits at night until further notice… he should have known that the forest would only become more exciting for the young teens of Riverdale._

Jellybean hadn’t set out to disobey her father’s request that she stay out of the forest. Truly, she had always found it creepy, and after the Griffins and Gargoyle’s fiasco, she’d been in no hurry to go anywhere near them.

But then Ricky had sent her a DM on instagram, and she was genuinely thrilled to hear from him. He used to be her _best_ friend, the only one who could understand what it was like to have crazy, absent parents, and who made the most effort to get to know the _real_ her. Without Ricky to secretly message while at school (her phone discreetly hidden in her pencil case at all times), she was forced to deal with the dramatic teenage girls and _imbecile_ male species. 

The kids she’d become friends with from the South Side were alright - in any case, they cared far less about the _ridiculously_ exaggerated reality tv shows than the girls she sat with at lunch. But she didn’t know the South Side kids well enough to strike up an _active_ friendship, and besides, they went to a different school - it would never work out.

So to say she was excited to meet up with Ricky was, therefore, rather a large understatement. 

Not that she’d tell him that, of course. She had her cool reputation to uphold.

Jellybean leaned against the wall of the comic book store on the South Side. The sun was shining brightly, but a cool breeze counteracted most of the heat. Jellybean could smell the roasting coffee beans wafting out from the dingy looking cafe next door, and was tempted to change their meeting destination, when a voice alerted her to the presence of another person on her right. 

“Princess Jellybean.” Ricky’s voice was slightly deeper than she remembered, and he wore a cheeky smirk on his face. He still had that boyish look about him, but he was gaining in height, and it was possible that if she stood right next to him he would be taller than _her._

Jellybean smiled brightly. “ _Nerd._ No one uses their G&G names anymore. That’s so last year.” She pushed off the wall and made her way towards him. 

“Hey, that character name is a _lifelong_ honor.” He joked. His voice cracked a little midway through his sentence, making her smirk, but she decided not to embarrass him by pointing it out.

Jellybean was still smiling when she reached out her arms. “So is my friendship, dork.” Ricky stiffened slightly when her arms wrapped around his body; but he recovered quickly, squeezing her with just a little bit _too_ much enthusiasm.

Ricky’s face was slightly pink as he pulled away. He shook his head and laughed. “It’s good to see you, JB.” 

Jellybean pouted her lips. “You could have seen more of me if you didn’t routinely drop off the face of the earth.”

“I know, I’m a shitty friend.” He laughed, regaining his composure. “For real… I’m sorry for ditching you… life just got kind of crazy.”

JB felt any lingering annoyance towards Ricky melting away. “It’s cool.” She gave him a happy smile. “Hey, have you been to Trent’s Tattoos? His Mrs has the _best_ cupcakes in Riverdale. I’ll buy you one...” she wiggled her eyebrows. 

The side of Ricky’s lips twitched. “Nah, not yet… I actually messaged you because I wanted to show you something.” He played with the front pocket of his jeans, a nervous habit JB had picked up on the last time she’d seen him. “Sorry for rushing you, but it’s a bit of a trek, and you do _not_ wanna be in the forest at night.”

JB stood up straighter. “You wanna go into the forest?” Her voice was more nervous than she thought it’d be.

Ricky raised an eyebrow. “Is that a problem?” He asked curiously.

JB tried to think of an excuse that wasn’t as lame as _my dad said no._ “Isn’t there like a curfew, or a ban from the forest?” She knew full-well the curfew only really came into effect after Eight PM, but she _had_ promised her dad she wouldn’t go into the forest, regardless of the time.

Ricky shrugged. “Dunno, I don’t watch the news.” He turned and took a step in the direction of the forest. He looked over his should and smirked at JB. “You coming?”

JB’s stomach rolled with nerves. She quickly checked her phone: Six PM. If she _did_ go with him, technically she wasn’t breaking the curfew… “Yeah, _duh,_ I can’t let you go alone.” 

They talked non-stop on the way through the walking tracks. JB forgot that Fox Forest was a little creepy, and focused instead on the sound of Ricky’s voice and the way he made her laugh. He asked if she got the Amber Alert for ‘that Northside chick’ - but because the tornado warnings that popped up when she was in Toledo scared her, Jellybean’s mother had turned the emergency alerts off on her phone a long time ago, and turning them back on had slipped her mind. She hoped whoever had been abducted wasn’t somebody she went to school with, and made a mental note to turn them on again later. 

The sun was setting, leaving pink and orange streaks of light above their heads as they made their way deeper into the forest. A very small clearing came into view, along with a large metal dome-looking… _thing_ that was nestled into the ground.

“What is _that?”_ Jellybean asked, her nose crinkling up at the sight.

Ricky stepped closer towards it. “This is where I’ve been hiding out lately. Here, and the Docks on the South Side.” Ricky grabbed the large metal wheel on top of the circular metal lid. “I was down here most of the week while the cops were sniffing around. Didn’t wanna get caught and be thrown back in foster care.” He started to turn the wheel, and a loud metallic grinding started to overpower Jellybean’s hearing. 

“Is this… the bunker?” Jellybean asked, realisation overtaking her.

Ricky nodded. “Yeah, you know about it? Not many people do…”

“My brother was hiding here in late March.” She’d never actually _seen_ the fabled bunker for herself, so there was a bit of an excited thrill entering Jellybean’s body. But _why_ he was showing her this place was the true mystery.

“March… hmm, I started crashing down here in May. It’s good to keep out the rain.” He pulled open the hatch. “But, I realised recently I’m not the only one who uses it. Which is why I’m bringing _you_ here.”

Jellybean got closer to the hatch and looked down at the ladder. “I mean, I have no idea who else would be using this place…” 

Ricky shook his head. “Nah that’s not it… I’ve been running on the South Side for most of the Summer, so I haven’t been back here much. But I came here Monday for the first time in _ages_ and… well, it’s easier if I just show you.” He threw a leg over the side of the hatch and started to make his way down the ladder.

Jellybean took a look around her, out into the dimly lit forest. Nobody _seemed_ to be around… she followed Ricky down the hole.

When she turned around, it took a moment for her eyes to adjust in the candlelit bunker. “This is kinda sick.” She said, her head nodding in approval.

“ _Sick_ is the right word.” Ricky said as he ducked to move into the larger room.

Jellybean followed him into the (honestly cool) bunker, and took a moment to take in the surroundings. The already-lit candles would have sent Alice into a fire hazard meltdown, but they gave the bunker a mystical lighting that looked both haunting and romantic. She then followed his gaze, and focused on the wall behind a fold up mattress. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she tried to process what she was seeing. 

Hundreds of photos were sticky taped to the bunker wall. She leaned in further, and started making out the faces of the little figures. Her breath hitched. “That’s my brother!” She choked out. 

“Not _just_ him.” Ricky said solemnly. He nodded towards a photo in front of him, and Jellybean narrowed her eyes to scrutinise it. 

It was hard to process what she was seeing, at first, because the photo’s existence made no sense. But then she jolted back as she realised that _she_ was in some of these photos. It took her a moment, but she deduced there were three images of her and Jughead; one of them sitting on his old motorbike (though her face was covered by her helmet), one of them standing outside of Walgreens, laughing at each other, and another of them walking up to Charles’ new apartment. 

The rest of the photos all included Jughead in some way - there were even a few images of him and Betty stealing a kiss in the school hallways. Of course, those photos had nothing on the images of them having sex in Jughead’s Stonewall dorm room - copies of which were numerous along the bunker wall; Jellybean cringed and averted her eyes from those images.

“It’s like a dedication… no, a _shrine_ to my brother…” Jellybean muttered in a horrified voice. 

Ricky shuffled awkwardly. “Yeah… it’s super creepy. It’s like he has a stalker.”

Jellybean nodded weakly as her eyes scanned the photos. There was Jughead coming out of their house, his face looking down at his phone. Jughead’s school photo, the very same one used at his fake funeral. Jughead handing out copies of the Blue and Gold Newspaper. Jughead and Betty at the park with Juniper and Dagwood. Jughead talking to Archie at their lockers. Jughead tied up shirtless to a chair in his bedroom (Jellybean tried not to focus on _that_ photo for too long). Jughead leaning against a fence, laughing at Reggie Mantle. Jughead smirking at Toni Topaz just outside of a classroom. Jughead reading in the senior lounge. Jughead alone in a booth at Pop’s, typing madly… 

Jellybean didn’t want to keep looking at the particularly graphic photos of her brother, but something possibly more disturbing caught her eyes. There were errors in several of the more lewd images, and Jellybean stared at them trying to figure out what was wrong… and then she realised:

Betty’s face had been scratched out.

“Oh my God.” Jellybean gasped. “We need to get out of here. And then I have to show this to Jughead.” Jellybean backed away from the images and started to make her way to the circular entry of the bunker.

Ricky grabbed her wrist. “Wait. Let me go first.” 

Jellybean scoffed and wrenched her hand away. “Why? Because I’m a _girl?_ ”

Ricky shook his head. “No! It’s just… I want to make sure nobody is out there…” For the first time in their friendship, Jellybean noticed fear in Ricky’s eyes. “And, I know you’re going to tell him about the photos, but _please_ don’t tell Jughead it was me who showed them to you. Or that I’ve been here. Or that I’m even still in Riverdale.”

Jellybean gave him a quizzical look. “Is it a secret or something? Jughead’s not a snitch… and how am I supposed to explain how I found this place?”

Ricky merely made his way to the ladder. “I trust you, JB. But nobody else. I can’t have anyone finding out I was talking to you… it’ll be bad. For both of us.”

Jellybean frowned as she followed him to the bottom of the ladder. “If you expect me to lie for you, I at least want to know why.”

Ricky paused, his hands steadying themselves on the ladder. He took a breath and shook his head. “I’ve already said too much, JB… I’m sorry.” He turned away and started his ascent.

“You haven’t said _anything._ ” Jellybean muttered. She would have kept arguing with him, but the fear in his eyes and her own stress about being in the forest were weighing too heavily on her mind.

Ricky seemed to have relaxed a bit once they were back on the walking track, but Jellybean was still on edge. The sun had almost completely set, and the trees that had been ambient and glowing as they walked towards the bunker now resembled cruel and devilish shadows. Despite the dry summer air, she shivered.

“Are you going to stay in the bunker again tonight?” She asked, both out of curiosity and to break the silence.

Ricky shook his head. “Fuck that. Now that the cops have stopped searching for Liz and Ellie in the forest, there’s nothing stopping your brother’s stalker from coming back to their sexual lair.” 

Jellybean screwed her face up. “ _Ew._ That’s just gross.” 

“Exactly. So I’m not sticking around and waiting for them to show up. I’d rather take my chances under the docks again.” 

Jellybean wanted to ask him more questions about that - surely foster care or homeless shelters couldn’t be worse than living alone on the streets - but she became distracted by a rustling noise to her right.

Ricky must have heard it too, because as Jellybean turned, Ricky grabbed her arm. “Don’t look, just keep walking.” 

Jellybean snapped her head forward. For the first time that day she was truly, and inexplicably, afraid. 

She was struggling to see in the dark, but Ricky slid his hand down her arm to take her hand and she felt comforted. Only slightly though, because Ricky didn’t want to turn their phone lights on in case somebody saw them, and the darkness remained an eerie presence.

They heard the snapping of twigs again behind them, and Jellybean told herself it was just woodland animals. _Nothing scary in these here woods, surely…_ she said to herself, hoping it was true. 

Perhaps it was because of the darkness, which had nearly engulfed every inch of light from the forest that neither Jellybean nor Ricky had seen the upcoming dark mass in their way. 

And they still didn’t see it when Jellybean hit the mass with her foot and tripped, and fell. 

“JB,” Ricky whispered, “are you okay?!” Despite the whisper, his voice was loud in the quiet of the night. 

Jellybean couldn’t take the darkness any longer. With shaky hands, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and activated the torch. As she scanned the light over the mass, it took her a few seconds to realise what she was seeing. 

And as she realised… she screamed. 

……. 

  
  


There were cops everywhere when Jughead haphazardly parked his Dad’s motorbike at the edge of Fox Forest. He’d never driven his bike so fast when his dad called him and told him about Jellybean’s “discovery” on the walking track… 

The news that a body had been found in Fox Forest was disturbing. Jughead had left Betty to unwind in the shower and went out on a quick UberEats run; as he waited the RIVW began to broadcast the report. He, Pop and several of the diner’s customers crowded around the small TV as Alice’s face popped up, her head against the standard newsroom background as she explained that the Sheriff was asking residents to stay away from the crime scene while they investigated. 

“You think it’s one of those Centerville girls?” A man seated at the bar to Jughead’s right asked no one in particular. 

An older waitress dressed in her yellow diner uniform responded from behind the bar. “Oh I hope it isn’t little Carla Clayton…” Her eyes welled up with tears. 

“Come now, Denise.” Pop put his hand on the woman’s shoulder. “Let’s not get ourselves worked up…” 

She sniffled and wiped her eyes on her apron. “It’s just terrible Pop… oh, look at me. I’m all in a tizzy.” She took a breath to compose herself and looked at the iPad that was sitting proudly next to the register. “Oh shoot, sorry Jughead, I haven’t even started making the order…”

“No rush, Denise. I’m sure whoever made the order is happy to wait for their milkshake - especially when it’s made by you.” He flashed her a charming smile, which she returned with watery eyes. 

It was then that Jughead’s phone started to chime, and his father quickly relayed that he was on his way to Fox Forest because the dead body was found by none other than his _sister._

His UberEats delivery was promptly abandoned as he sped off on the bike.

Relief flooded Jughead’s body when he arrived and spotted FP with his arms locked around Jellybean securely. 

“Daddy, you’re legit squishing me.” Jellybean grumbled against her father’s chest. 

FP’s voice was gruff as he responded. “I don’t give a flying fuck, Forsythia Jones.” As Jughead approached, FP started rubbing Jellybean’s back. “What the hell were you even doing out there… you trying to give your old man a heart attack or something?” 

Jughead reached them seconds later. “JB! Are you okay?!”

“Everyone keeps asking me that. I’m _fine_. I’m not the one who’s dead.” Jellybean said quietly. 

Jughead’s stomach rolled. “Yes… but finding the body…”

Jellybean wriggled out of FP’s grasp. “I don’t want to talk about it… I have more urgent issues to take care of.” 

“More urgent… you need to come sit down in the car, kiddo.” FP’s exasperated voice perfectly matched his frown. 

But Jellybean, in all her nervousness, stayed firm. “Uh-uh Dad, I’m serious… I found the bunker where Jughead was staying…”

“Jellybean I told you I didn’t want you in those woods…” 

“Can you lecture me later, please? I found something really serious…”

Jughead turned to the side and noted that Charles’ car was pulling up to the scene. He thought maybe he’d heard about the body and come to check on Jellybean, but two more FBI agents emerged from the car and Jughead realised that they were there to take over the investigation… 

Charles spotted Jughead and nodded grimly before he trudged deeper into the forest with the other agents. 

FP and Jellybean didn’t notice Charles, and Jughead tuned back into the conversation. 

“... but I’m scared we’re gonna get in more trouble if anyone sees us going in there—” Jellybean was rapidly recounting her story, but she was so rattled it wasn’t coming out as it should. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down. Take a deep breath, let’s start again.” FP said gently to Jellybean. 

Jughead focused back on his sister. “Hey, no one’s getting in trouble, alright? What happened?”

Jellybean took a breath and blew the air back out. “I… was walking around the tracks and found the bunker.”

Jughead’s forehead crumpled. “JB… _how?_ That’s not easy to find…”

“I just _did,_ okay?!” She snapped, and Jughead dropped the questions. “There’s heaps of screenshots of Jughead and Betty’s sex tapes… and all these stalkerish photos of Jughead on the walls. Someone’s been following him… they’ve made some kind of collage dedicated to him in the bunker. It’s so creepy… Betty’s face is scratched out of some of the photos… there’s even some of me in there.” 

Jughead felt dread filling up his mind. “That’s… I need to go see this.”

“No.” FP grabbed Jughead’s arm. “You need to stay here with your sister.” 

“What are you going to do?” Jughead asked, but his dad was already walking over to some of the Sheriff’s deputies. Jughead reached out and put his arm around Jellybean’s shoulders. 

With a startled jolt, he realised that the deputies were actually his fellow South Side Serpents Fangs and Tonsils. They looked nervous as FP approached them, and their expressions were grim as they conversed with him, but eventually they both nodded in determination and headed off into the forest. 

FP came back over to his children with a solemn expression on his face. 

“What happened?” Jellybean asked, her voice shaking in worry. 

FP softened his expression. “I have it on good authority that Fangs is gonna “look for evidence” in the bunker and just so _happen_ to stumble across the ‘child pornography’… he might have to lock the place down as a crime scene if that happens. Might even need to take it all into evidence…” 

Jellybean relaxed. “Thanks Dad…”

FP eyed her suspiciously, but didn’t press her for more information. Jughead, too, wanted to know how she knew there were photos of him in the bunker, but Jellybean had just found a dead body… 

… everyone in the Jones family knew how _that_ felt. 

Besides, potential stalkers were pretty low on his list of priorities right now. He could deal with that when he had time to wrap his head around it… 

…… 

_“Alice Smith, reporting for RIVW. It has now been confirmed that the body found on Friday night in Fox Forest belonged to Parvati Dasgupta, one of four teenage girls who went missing in Centerville this last month. The Riverdale Sheriff’s department is assisting Sheriff Lansdown in his efforts to gain more information about the circumstances of the tragic end to Parvati’s story._

_The Dasgupta family have asked for privacy as they grieve the loss of their beloved daughter, a Centerville High Student who was about to undergo her Senior Year and had just been given an early acceptance into Harvard Business School…_

_Grave concerns remain for Lia Sheridan, April Lambert and Tricia London, and authorities are considering the possibility of a serial killer. It is still not yet clear whether the abduction of Riverdale resident Carla Clayton, and the disappearances of South Side teens Ellen Ellison and Eliza-Ellison Mates are connected to the Centerville disappearances…_

_With the death of one teenager so tragically confirmed today, some residents of Centerville are fearing that the still-missing teens may not be found alive…”_

  
  


…….

“That’s it. I’m done.” Alice stormed into the kitchen from the back door; it slammed behind her and rattled in its hinges. FP and Jellybean both jolted in shock; FP dropped his pizza slice onto the napkin in front of him.

Jughead calmly lifted his head up from his MacBook. “With what?” He shifted in his seat at the dinner table so that he could properly face her.

Alice’s eyes were narrowed in fury. “Those soul-sucking sea urchins that run the RIVW! You won’t believe the speculative crap they wanted me to get on TV and present as fact! Oh, and don’t even get me _started_ on the illiterate idiot that Hiram put in charge of the Riverdale Register. I am a _journalist,_ not a puppet for the higher ups to sell their hidden agendas. Twenty _years_ of my blood, sweat and tears went into that newspaper and Hiram Lodge has _completely_ destroyed it. Well, I won’t stand for it any longer.”

“Hell yes, Alice, stick it to the man.” Jellybean said; her usual smirk didn’t quite reach her eyes, but she made an attempt at sounding like her normal, spunky self.

Some of the steam left Alice’s body as she nodded at Jellybean’s comment, but she was still visibly angry. “Honestly, I should have known something was amiss at the Register - I mean seriously, in the space of two years it went from being the Riverdale Register, to the Lodge Ledger, then back to the Riverdale Register again… honestly, how are the reader’s meant to trust the voices of the Newspaper with that kind of inconsistency?”

FP shifted in his seat again. “Wait, so are you going to quit?” 

“I’m resigning from the Register tomorrow… but…” Alice’s face went red again, but it seemed to be because she was blushing in embarrassment instead of raving with anger. “Ah… I don’t exactly need to quit the RIVW…” she let out a gush of air.

The Jones trio took a moment to process the implications of her statement. Jughead piped up first. “Wait, they fired you?”

Alice looked down for a moment. “Well, they’ve certainly recommended I find somewhere else to work.” 

“They can’t just fire you!” Jughead said, feeling anger on Alice’s behalf.

FP stood up. “Alice, surely there’s something we can do about this…” He made his way over to where she was standing in the kitchen.

Alice shrugged. “Let’s not get too worked up about it now, gentlemen. I’ll find something else to do with my time, I’m sure…” She picked at one of her long fingernails but didn’t elaborate.

“Mom? Are you okay?” Betty’s voice came from the staircase. Her face appeared from around the corner of the staircase, and moments later she was in the kitchen.

“Elizabeth! Why aren’t you in bed?!” Alice’s horrified expression immediately overtook her frustrated one.

Betty’s cool resolve didn’t change. “Mom, calm down. Bed rest ended today.” She made her way over to join Jughead and Jellybean at the dinner table; Jughead noted that she looked away from the pizza in mild disgust.

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean you should be prancing around the house—”

“I walked down _one_ set of stairs, Mom.”

“But are you still in pain? Any headaches? Nausea? Are you—”

“ _Mom,_ I’m fine.”

“Oh, you’re _fine?!_ Were you _fine_ last week when I had to rush you to the emergency room?!” 

“Wow. I was wrong. I _do_ have a headache.” Betty gave Jughead a smirk.

Jughead snickered, and tried to turn his laughter into a coughing fit. Alice’s eyes narrowed as she looked between the two of them.

“This isn’t funny.” Alice said in her infamously no-nonsense tone. “Betty, you need to take your health seriously, for your sake… _and_ the baby’s.”

FP’s cheeks flushed, and he suddenly was looking anywhere but at Betty or Jughead. 

Betty gritted her teeth. “I don’t need anyone babying me right now. I _know_ that I need to look after myself.” 

There was an awkward pause between the mother and daughter, and neither Jughead nor FP could think of anything to break the silence. 

But Jellybean got some of her courage back. “Alice got fired.” She said quickly. Everyone turned to her, their faces varying degrees of confusion. “That’s what we were talking about, Betty. You know, when you came downstairs…”

The confusion left Betty’s face. “Oh. _What?_ Why?” 

Alice huffed and moved towards the fridge. “They made some… demands that I wouldn’t agree to… things got a little heated… the details aren’t important...”

……

_Alice wouldn’t elaborate, but I later found out (through eavesdropping) that she refused to interview, or allow anyone else to interview the person who found the body of Parvati Dasgupta. The RIVW Director had accused her of withholding public information and implied she wasn’t a real journalist because apparently “as a journalist it was her duty to let the public know the truth, no matter how gruesome or invasive!”_

_She also refused to say on camera that the disappearances could be the result of Centerville’s very own “Black Hood” and that all girls in the area should be fearful of going out alone, lest the Reaper of Sinners capture them. The resulting argument with the Director had ended with Alice breaking a microphone in anger…_

_… I respected her a lot more after that._

_Betty and I discussed the possibility that I had a stalker, and she showed me the notes she’d made that possibly supported that theory. We’d need to find time to investigate our theories, and interrogate some of our prime suspects - but until Betty was well enough, and until Jellybean didn’t need distractions from thinking about the body of Parvati Dasgupta, we decided to remain vigilant and continue to gather clues._

_But we were_ going _to figure out who was watching us. And soon._

…… 

“You’re back!” 

Betty turned around and focused on the overly-excited voice of the twenty-one year old stripper Betty had struck up a friendship with since working at the Hoe Zone. “Yep! All better now, Layla.” It was mostly true - the pain in her ribs was reduced to a dull-ache if she moved the wrong way, and the nausea hadn’t bothered her to an alarming point for several days. She didn’t feel ‘great’, more like ‘okay’, and she could still only eat eggs on toast, but the little pamphlet Dr Patel gave her had emphasised coming to terms with the possibility that she might feel awful through the whole pregnancy.

She was trying not to let that stress her out.

Layla practically bounced over to Betty. “You were _sorely_ missed. Elio put Lucy in charge of taking orders… the poor girl actually cried when George came in.”

Betty tried to remember which of the other waitresses was named Lucy, and recalled a skittish young brunette. “Ahh, yes, George…” George was an elderly man that came into the club at least three times a week and tipped Betty obscenely large amounts of money for ‘taking care of him’ whenever she brought him his Pina Colada. “He makes a lot of lewd comments… I’ve found that just nodding along and smiling like the polite young ladies we’re pretending to be does the trick.”

“She’s young. She’ll grow thicker skin.” Layla nodded as though that was end of it.

Betty raised her eyebrows. “She’s the same age as _me._ ”

“True, but you’re built differently. You’re tougher. You’re not scared of the guys who come in here thinking they’ll get a pretty girl to fall in love with them if they pay them enough.” Layla winked and started to make her way over to the dressing room. “I’m dedicating my first dance to you, darling!” She called out to Betty.

Betty laughed. Honestly, working at the Hoe Zone wasn’t _nearly_ as seedy or degrading as she thought it would be. Sure, the name of the club had “hoe” in it, but she was called that all the time at Pop’s. And the strippers seemed to mostly have a great sense of humour, and were all comfortable in their own skin - even the ones who weren’t traditionally beautiful. 

Sometimes while she was behind the bar, waiting for the drinks to be made, she’d watch the strippers dancing and flirting with the crowd. The men jeered and threw money at them, but the girls didn’t shy away from the attention. And the strippers made _bank_ \- they didn’t even have to give Elio more than a 5% cut of their ‘tips’, if the gossip between the other waitresses held any truth to it. Betty often thought up mini-manifestos on the feminist implications of stripping… she’d love to write an article on it one day, maybe get a review of the strip-club industry from the inside… 

She was still thinking about female empowerment as she wandered over to her first set of customers for the night. As promised, Layla sent Betty a wink as she started removing her sexy nurse costume to the tune of “Sweet But Psycho”, and the men Betty approached were all focused on the sway of Layla’s hips. 

Betty cleared her throat. “Can I get you gentlemen anything?” 

One of the boys started to turn their head. “Yes, _please_ , I’ll have a — _Betty?”_

Betty stiffened as she realised that she knew several of the party-members. “Reggie… hello.” She tried not to let herself feel awkward. _I’m not a stripper, I just work with them, and who cares what my ex-classmates think?_ Betty shook the doubts away - it wasn’t very ‘feminist-manifesto’ of her to be worried about being caught working at strip club… but ages-old prejudices died hard. 

“What are you doing here?” He asked, confusion overtaking his previously cool demeanour. “Are you a stripper now?” His eyes raked over the skimpy red lingerie she was wearing, and she tried to resist the urge to cover up her prominent cleavage. 

“No, no… I’m just a waitress.” She studied the rest of the group of boys and realised they were all from her grade in school. “Aren’t you guys all underage?”

“Not according to my ID.” It was Fangs who answered, and held up a card that undoubtedly had someone else’s name on it. 

“You’re a _cop._ ” Betty said, trying to keep the judgement out of her voice.

“Sshh.” Fangs looked around nervously. “You can be eighteen and still go to a strip club. I’m not drinking anyway, someone needs to drop these… very _sober_ friends of mine home.”

Reggie nodded, and Betty realised by the blood-shot appearance of his eyes that he was one of these supposedly ‘sober’ friends. “We’re not here being weird, either.” Reggie said quickly, a note of discomfort in his voice.

Betty rolled her eyes. “Right.”

“No, seriously Betty! We’re doing research.” 

“Research?” 

Another voice responded before Reggie had the chance to collect his thoughts. “I’m not doing research. I’m here to see the boobs I was deprived of all these years.”

Betty scanned his face and recognised one of the other South Side Serpents: Slash. He sat next to a sheepish-looking Sweet Pea, who seemed to be trying to discreetly cover his face with his hand. The final member of the group was one of the boys from the Riverdale High basketball team. Betty had seen him at school but couldn’t remember his name.

“You’re a riot, Slash.” Reggie said sarcastically. Slash shrugged and threw a dollar bill onto the stage.

Curiosity got the better of Betty. “What are you researching?”

Even through the dim lighting of the strip club, Betty could see Reggie’s blushing cheeks. “Well, it’s a funny story actually…” Reggie began. He cleared his throat before he continued. “Fangs here has been doing some… ahhh… niche cinematic projects with Kevin.”

Betty tried not to be shocked that Reggie knew the words _niche_ and _cinematic._ “I see…”

“And it makes a lot of money, but they have to give the director a cut… so I thought, what if they _didn’t_ have to give a cut to the director… because they co-owned the company?”

Betty’s mind swam with confusion. “What the hell kind of business are you getting Kevin into?” 

“Oh, he’s already _in_ the business, Betts. I’m just giving them a mutually-beneficial means of continuing.” Reggie grinned triumphantly. 

“The business of...?”

“Underground Films!” Reggie continued. When Betty just stared at him in confusion, he elaborated. “You know… not the mainstream stuff. Really specific kinks, and customised videos, kind of like… secret porn, but not porn - well, unless the people we employ are into that, then maybe we can expand.” 

Betty raised her eyebrows. “You’re getting Kevin into porn?!” She would have been more outraged if she wasn’t so surprised. 

“No, no, no… you’re misunderstanding me. Listen, Kevin is already doing this, and he’s making a _lot,_ he has a following, and he doesn’t even have to get naked! So now is the time for him to branch out and start his _own_ business… that’s where I come in.”

Betty just stared at him.

“I’m doing a Diploma of Business Management at Riverdale Community College, so I’m going to know _all_ about how to run our niche video market, _and_ I’ll have the credibility to back myself up! We just need more actors… hence why we are here.” Reggie indicated to Layla. “Researching places we can potentially recruit new employees! I’m sure there’s someone who works here that would be interested in making money off the the Underground Film industry.”

Slash tore his eyes away from the stage to look up at Betty. “Look, I have no idea what this guy is talking about, but if tickling someone on camera for ten minutes is going to make me five grand, I’ll happily join his company. That’s _way_ more than I ever made off of selling pot.”

The basketball player choked on his glass of water. _Poor innocent boy,_ thought Betty, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. 

“I was just… bored.” Sweet Pea said in a weak attempt at defending his presence in the Hoe Zone. He looked like he was immensely regretting his decision to come out with the other boys.

Betty had a feeling tonight was going to be a _long_ night.

…….

Jughead waited inside the station wagon outside of the Hoe Zone’s back door. Betty had already texted him to let him know she was gonna be out late, so he was killing time by patiently reading a free iBook that promised to ‘shock him to his core’; truthfully it was so poorly edited that he only continued to read it so that he could have a laugh at the grammar and spelling mistakes.

He’d become so absorbed by the ‘ritualistic werewolf attack’ the thirteen year old author was trying to describe that he nearly dropped his phone in fright when he heard a knock on the driver’s side window. He stared up into the pale face and unseeing brown eyes of the girl outside his car, and mentally thanked himself for locking the doors.

He shoved his phone into his pocket and rolled down the window just enough that the girl could hear him. “Hey there…” he said, confused. 

She folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the window. “You looking for a good time tonight?” She said in a croaky voice. 

“Ahh… no thanks.” Jughead said, his mind going blank.

The girl’s unseeing expression didn’t change. “Come on, baby… I’m a lot more fun than those strippers you’re always picking up.”

Jughead realised what it was she was implying. His mood changed from confused to disturbed. “Ah, it’s not like that… I’m just picking up my…” he paused before he said _girlfriend._ This random prostitute didn’t need to know anything about his personal life. “I appreciate the offer, but I’m not looking for a hooker tonight.” 

Jughead wanted to close the window and get as far away from this girl as possible, but she kept talking. “I’ve got other things, if you’re interested…” she looked down at her pushed up cleavage; with her slender fingers she pulled a tiny bag filled with white powder out, then quickly shoved it back in again. 

Jughead was about to tell her firmly to go away, but as she looked back up at him, he realised that he recognised her. “Hey, I know you…” Jughead blurted out.

The girl paused and looked away. “No you don’t, babe.” She pushed away from his window, and as she walked away, Jughead realised where he recognised her from.

“Wait!” Jughead fumbled with the lock on Betty’s car, and jumped out of the door. “Wait, you’re…” he caught up to her quickly, and stood in front of her. “Aren’t you Tricia London? From Centerville?” 

The girl’s expressionless face quickly morphed into a grimace. “I don’t know who that is.” Panic started to enter the girl’s eyes.

“You’re… you’re _missing_ right now.” Jughead gave her an incredulous look, but Tricia quickly pushed past him and started to walk around to the front of the building. “Everyone is looking for you!”

“Ain’t nobody looking for me.” She said, refusing to meet Jughead’s eyes. She quickened her pace as she tried to dodge his attempts to stop her from leaving. 

“Is someone forcing you to work out here?” Jughead felt sick to his stomach. “I can call someone for you…” 

“Get lost. You’re gonna get me in trouble.” Her voice lowered and she looked over her shoulder. 

Jughead frowned. “With your pimp?”

“Fuck off back to your strippers. I’m not telling you shit.” She shoved past him and continued on down the street. 

Jughead was at a loss. He wasn’t sure whether to follow her (she might lead him to the other missing teen girls) or do as she said and go back to the Hoe Zone (if she wasn’t being forced into sex work, it really wasn’t any of his business… but if she _was_ , he didn’t want to let her out of his sight when he could have done something to get her out of a terrible situation). 

He watched as she walked off down the street and headed towards the docks. _Tricia London, Tricia London…_ Jughead tried to remember more details about her, but was coming up blank. He pulled his phone out to search her name, and an article from the Centerville Sentinel’s website came up. He scrolled until he found the information he was looking for.

_… a second teen reported missing this week. Tricia London, aged fifteen, was last seen by her teacher…_

Aged fifteen.

Jughead dialed Sheriff Keller’s number.

While he stood at the front of the Hoe Zone, Betty had already walked out of the back door, finally at the end of her shift. The first day back had been rough, and she was happy it was over, but she still enjoyed herself. It was nice to be back into some kind of normalcy. 

As she approached her station wagon, she realised the handsome face of her boyfriend was nowhere to be seen. She frowned, and tried not to let it worry her - but given the sudden chaos in their town, it was hard not to be concerned. 

“Hey, you all good?” Layla’s voice came from behind her.

Betty turned to face Layla as the other girl walked through the back door. “Yeah… I just seem to have misplaced my boyfriend.” Betty said in an incredulous voice. She felt the urge to press her nails into the palms of her hand, but gripped onto the strap of her handbag instead.

Layla laughed. “He probably just went up to the convenience store. You got out late, right?”

Betty nodded and tried to accept the explanation. “Yeah, he does enjoy snacks… why are you out here? It’s only midnight…”

Layla smiled. “Yeah, I had to finish early because my son’s usual babysitter has a science exam for Summer School tomorrow.” She shrugged. “I’d feel terrible if she failed because she was babysitting my kid.”

Betty nodded. “I didn’t realise you had a son…” she said, the information coming as a surprise.

“Yep! A two year old boy.” She pulled out her phone and showed Betty a photo of a cute, chubby-cheeked toddler. 

“He’s adorable.” Betty said, her heart swelling with an unfamiliar, giggly emotion.

“Looks just like his daddy, unfortunately.” Layla chuckled as she swiped out of the photos and opened the Uber app.

“Oh, my boyfriend can drop you home if you like.” 

“That’s okay! I wouldn’t want to be a hassle, Betty. I’m happy using Uber.”

“Really, it’s fine. He’s using my car anyway.” Betty joked. Truthfully, the lack of Jughead in the parking lot was making Betty a little on edge, and the thought of her friend getting in the car with a stranger right now was making her nervous. 

“Aww, aren’t you sweet.” Layla chuckled. 

Layla started to tell Betty a story about the sixteen year old girl currently babysitting her son, when Betty noticed another car was joining them in the parking lot. She frowned, but kept her gaze locked on Layla. Out of the corner of her eye, she noted that the car was, in fact, a red van… 

…a red van like the vehicle involved in Carla Clayton’s abduction… 

Layla had noticed it too, and was in the process of saying: “We should go the fuck inside…” when the sliding door of the van sprang open.

Two men wearing skull-patterned bandanas around their mouths jumped out of the van, and were in front of Betty and Layla within seconds. Layla let out a shrill shriek, and jumped back, but the taller of the men grabbed her by the arm and tried to drag her into the van. She struggled against his hold as the second man got closer to Betty.

But Betty was ready for him.

As he reached out to grab her by both arms, instead of pulling away, Betty grabbed him by the back and pulled him in closer - almost as if they were embracing. As soon as he was pressed against her, she used her remaining force to drive her knee into his groin.

_“Fuck!”_ The man shouted, and let her go instantly. The one dragging Layla froze for a moment, seemed to decide Betty was going to be more difficult to abduct, and reached for her instead - but he wasn’t quick enough to get to her before Betty had reached into her handbag and pulled out her bottle of pepper spray.

“No no no wait!” The second assailant said, but Betty sprayed the nozzle directly into his eyes. He let out a very un-masculine scream.

A high-pitched horn sounded from the red vehicle. _“Get in the fucking van you idiots!”_ The driver practically growled.

The man Betty had kneed was still hunched over as he grabbed the arm of his now-whimpering partner in crime. They were almost back inside the open door when Jughead came running down the side of the Hoe Zone and into the parking lot. 

“What the fuck?!” He shouted, and dragged the freshly maced assailant back out of the van. He landed a punch on the guy’s head, and the guy dropped to the floor with a groan.

It was only then that Betty noticed that the back of the man’s jacket had a ghostly skull sewn into it… surrounded by spiky silver studs. 

_He’s a Ghoulie,_ Betty realised as Jughead set to work on dragging the other guy out of the van. 

But before Jughead could give the second man the greeting he deserved, the driver's door swung open and the driver jumped out. He was bigger than the other two men and looked like he had some muscle. Like the other two, his face was also covered by a skull bandana. Betty got ready to mace him too, but flinched as the driver pulled a gun out of his pants and held it up to Jughead’s head. 

“Juggie!” Betty cried out, and Jughead froze instantly, his eyes hyper-focused on the barrel of the gun.

But the driver didn’t shoot. “Give me a reason not to, Serpent.” The man said, his voice muffled by the bandana. He stared Jughead down, his eyes wild and unfriendly.

Betty’s breath hitched as there was a moment of silence between Jughead and the driver.

“The cops are already on their way.” Jughead responded calmly. 

The driver’s eyes narrowed. “You’re bluffing.” Betty’s heart was in knots, and Layla anxiously moved closer to her side - but the sound of police sirens had them all turning their heads towards the street.

The driver kept the gun on Jughead and moved closer to his friends. He kicked the one groaning on the floor. “Get up.” He said forcefully, and the men practically crawled through the sliding door. 

The driver kept his gun on Jughead until both doors were closed, and his eyes stayed on the three of them as he sped out of the parking lot, tyres screeching on the asphalt.

None of them said a word for several seconds after the Ghoulies were gone. 

“Oh my God.” Layla started shaking, and Betty looked up and realised that her eyes were filling with tears. 

Betty pulled her into a hug. “It’s okay! You’re okay. We’re all okay.” Betty’s eyes met Jughead’s over Layla’s shoulders. 

It was only then they both allowed themselves to feel the panic that was forced down by the adrenaline. 

  
  


……. 

“Charles, is this really necessary? She’s already spoken to Sheriff Keller.” Alice fretted as she sat beside Betty in the back of an ambulance. 

Betty felt a little sorry for her mother; she’d found out that her daughter worked at a strip club, _and_ had almost been abducted from one in the same night. But instead of freaking out, Alice was keeping her composure. 

The adrenaline having now left Betty’s body, she realised how sore she was after fighting off the Ghoulies. Her ribs were aching again, and the sides of her arms were definitely going to be bruised. She felt a little nauseous, but thankfully hadn’t thrown up yet. She wished Jughead was still next to her, but another FBI agent had coaxed him away to get his testimony and they were both out of earshot. 

“I understand your concern Alice, it’s late, she’s been ill… but Betty knows how important it is to get eye-witness testimony as close to an event as possible - she learned that in my class, which she _aced._ ” A small twinkle of pride lit up in Charles’ eyes as he faced Betty. “And just between us… your friend over there isn’t going to be much help, unfortunately.” Charles’ eyes drifted over to the other ambulance; Layla was being treated for shock, as another one of the strippers, _and_ Elio, stayed dutifully by her side while her paramedic spoke to Sheriff Keller. 

Betty smiled weakly and clutched her blanket around her arms tighter. It wasn’t doing much to fight off the emotional chill in her bones, but the soft fabric kept her hands occupied. “Me and Jughead did speak to Sheriff Keller already. It was three Ghoulies, they pulled up in front of us and tried to get us in the van…” she recounted the exact same story she’d given Sheriff Keller from when she’d first seen the van until the cops had arrived. “Why is the FBI questioning us about this, exactly? Can’t they get the information from the Sheriff’s department?”

Charles raised an eyebrow. “Oh, the FBI are _very_ interested in gang activity in Riverdale… we’re just not certain the Sheriff is going to ask _quite_ the right questions.” Charles crouched down so he could be at eye-level with Betty, then pulled out a recording device and activated it. “Did you know the men?”

“Not exactly… I knew that they were Ghoulies but I’ve never met them before.” Betty explained.

Charles nodded. “Why do you say they were Ghoulies?”

Betty frowned. “Because… they _were?_ ” She said it like a question.

“What _specifically_ gave you that impression?” Charles’ voice stayed remarkably calm.

Betty paused and considered. “They all had on leather jackets with the Ghoulies’ logo.”

“Can you describe it?” 

“The logo?” Betty asked, and Charles nodded. “Um, a creepy looking skull face. And the rest of the jackets were embellished with those metal studs. They usually have ‘Ghoulies’ written under it, and I _did_ see a word there, but it was too dark and they were moving around too fast for me to get a good look at the word. I’d bet my college tuition on them being Ghoulies though.”

“What else did you notice about them?” 

Betty chewed on her lip as she thought. “The driver was the leader… he seemed older than the two that tried to grab me and Layla. He was definitely in charge. And the other two seemed… _young_. Maybe my age.”

Charles continued asking Betty for more details, and Betty found comfort in recounting the event - she refused to call it her _abduction_ attempt - because it helped her think of it critically, methodically, scientifically; her specialty. She recounted the men’s defining facial features and differences in colouring. It took her until Charles was almost finished with his questioning before she realised what he was doing.

“You’re trying not to ask me any leading questions.” Betty said, raising her eyebrows.

Charles smiled widely. “Exactly. Human memory is a very sensitive database, and it’s easy to manipulate. I’m not having anyone else jeopardise this case by saying we compromised the witnesses, or the victims. That’s also why we’re interviewing you separately.”

Betty nodded her head. “That’s fair. You don’t want to get into court and have the case thrown out because of something like that.” 

“I’m impressed, Betty. You’re keeping a clear head despite undergoing an undeniably traumatic event.” Charles stood up and turned off the recorder. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a notepad, while Alice wrapped her arm around Betty’s shoulders.

Betty eyed the notepad curiously, as another thought occurred to her. “Charles… was this the same group that took Carla Clayton?”

Charles looked up from his notepad. “I don’t want to speculate…” he looked over his shoulder to check where the other FBI agents were situated, decided they weren’t in ear shot, and then turned back to Betty. “But the abduction attempt on you and Layla was very similar. Similar vehicle description, and the assailants who took her were also three men in leather jackets and bone-patterned bandanas.”

Betty held her breath for a moment. “Who was the witness in Carla’s abduction?”

Charles put his notepad away. “Her older brother.” 

Betty’s heart sank, but she pushed through her thoughts. “And this was the first time somebody actually _saw_ a girl get abducted, right? The other girls in Centerville and Riverdale who disappeared… there weren’t any witnesses, correct?”

Charles, once again, looked impressed. “Correct.”

“So whoever did this is escalating… or getting desperate.”

“Indeed.” There was definitely pride in Charles’ expression now, but he stayed calm and collected, intrigued by the way Betty was discerning the information.

“What happened to Chuck Clayton? I didn’t hear anything about him in the news…”

“That was intentional. It was to protect his identity since we didn’t know who exactly had taken his sister or what their intentions were. There was a significant delay between Carla’s abduction and Chuck alerting the police, because he was knocked out for around half an hour, and suffered a severe concussion.” Charles paused before continuing. “It seems that he tried to fight them off… and honestly, I believe they thought he was dead when they left. He was hospitalised with three broken ribs and a dislocated jaw, and his face was covered in blood.”

Betty nodded with finality. “So this _is_ gang related. It’s not a typical serial killer, or the same group of serial killers that just _happen_ to be in a gang.” 

Charles’ face held curiosity and anticipation. “What’s your reasoning?”

Betty shifted so she could sit up straighter. “Well, for starters it’s likely that they used the same van, and they were all probably part of the same gang. And not to be all anti-girl power, but I _know_ Chuck Clayton. He was captain of the football team, definitely works out a lot, no stranger to fights… there’s no way I could have fought off the same men that managed to beat him up so badly that he was put in hospital, especially not in my current state. Which makes me think that the people who tried to abduct us, and the people who abducted Carla aren’t the same people… but they may be part of a larger gang.” She gave him a pointed look. “Like the Ghoulies, who incidentally have been spotted lurking around Centerville and are believed to have been the ones who trashed parts of the South Side a month ago.”

Charles nodded along with her explanation. “I’ve never believed it was a serial killer. Some of my colleagues disagree with me, but I think that whoever is doing this is far too active, particularly for a newbie killer. And based on the biological evidence collected from Parvati Dasgupta’s body… it’s definitely more than one person, and they’re not very discreet.”

“Maybe… maybe abducting and killing young women is part of their initiation into the Ghoulies.” Betty suggested.

Alice looked between Charles and Betty nervously. “Betty, this is a lot of stress for one night…”

But Betty shook her head. “No, I’m onto something here Mom.” She didn’t wait for Alice or Charles to react, but powered through. “I think that the Ghoulies are abducting girls as part of some new initiation ritual. The gang almost completely died out last year, but now they’re back with a vengeance, and they have something to prove. They seem more organised now, too, so they probably have a new leader.” Betty’s face screwed up into a grimace. “Possibly Penny Peabody, who hasn’t been seen for over a year but was somehow involved with the Gargoyle Gang and has a massive grudge against her old and now rival gang, the South Side Serpents.” Betty looked up into Charles’ eyes. “Penny used to be in cahoots with Hiram Lodge, and there have been whisperings among some of the Serpents and ex-inmates of the Lodge Detention Center that Hiram is using his prisoners to make Fizzle Rocks and Jingle Jangle in exchange for earlier release dates.” She waited expectantly for Charles to say something, but when he didn’t she said: “What do you think?

Charles answered slowly. “I think… that you’re going to make a great FBI agent one day, Betty.”

Alice managed to hold back her groan of disapproval. 

Betty’s brows furrowed. “There’s just one thing that doesn’t add up.”

Charles cocked his head to the side. “What’s that?”

Betty twisted Jughead’s ring around her finger. “If the girls in Centerville were abducted by the Ghoulies, then why did Jughead see one of them tonight?”

Charles frowned and turned his head towards Jughead. “Which girl did he see?”

“Tricia London.” Betty was growing nervous from the look on Charles’ face. “That’s why he left the car and wasn’t here when I first came out of work… she approached him and tried to sell him drugs… but tried to walk away when he recognised her. He followed her up the road for a bit…” Betty continued to slide the ring around in circles. “I was with him when he spoke to Sheriff Keller. He thinks she might be a prostitute… Jughead is _certain_ it was her that he saw.”

“And this happened _just_ before the red van full of Ghoulies showed up?” Charles averted his gaze back to Jughead again, and Betty wondered if he was about to interrupt Jughead’s conversation with the other FBI agent.

“ _Minutes,_ maybe. Jughead had only just called Sheriff Keller when he came back and saw the tail end of me macing the Ghoulies…” Concern for Tricia, a girl she’d only ever seen news articles of, welled up in Betty’s heart. “Could she have run away from her parents? Maybe she wasn’t abducted at all; she could have been in a bad home situation and thought turning to the streets was her only option. I mean, I’m all for sex workers doing their thing, nothing wrong with paying an adult for their services, but Tricia is fifteen. She’s not even old enough to consent to _sex,_ let alone sex work…”

“Honestly? No, I think it _is_ the Ghoulies who took her…” Charles said, his frown deepening. “But I don’t think they’re just abducting girls to kill them… I think they might have started a sex trafficking ring.”

And with that speculation, one mystery may have just been solved… But what on earth Charles was going to do about it still needed to be figured out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How was that for y’all? ;)
> 
> I’m so HYPED because the answers to all these mysteries are just around the corner - EXTRA brownie points for those who can figure out who is behind all of this insane crap. 
> 
> I had two very different ideas for where this story could go, and one of them was insanely brutal... I’ve decided that can be it’s own standalone fic instead (won’t be posted any time soon but it will come out.... one day) and I won’t make you all suffer too hard through Tapes of Us - believe me these characters are already suffering enough.


	16. Misery Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jughead finally decides to get therapy for his sexual issues. Betty pushes aside her fears and starts getting organised for college. Betty and Jellybean bond. The Ghoulies pay Archie a visit, and some of the kids at the Community Center snoop around the wrong side of town.
> 
> And through his and Betty’s investigative work, Jughead finds out who is behind the locker incident - leading him one step closer to The Voyeur...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I FIGURED OUT HOW TO MAKE CHAPTER BANNERS. Check out chapter 1 for my shocking editing skills Ahahahah 
> 
> I didn’t want season 5 to influence where I take this fanfic, so I WITHHELD from watching it until I had almost completely finished this chapter and was just up to editing. Luckily, episode 1 didn’t really tell us more than we already knew, though that doesn’t mean I’m any happier about it. Can you be physically ill from a love-hate viewing of a tv show? I had to watch it through abnormallyadam’s reaction videos just to cope. Anyway from now on I’m choosing to live in my own fanfiction fantasy. 
> 
> Kind both proud of and disappointed in myself for putting some eerily accurate predictions in my fanfic tho :’) (and obviously some extremely NOT similar predictions).

_Chapter 16 - Misery Business_

_Riverdale was falling apart._

_I knew it. Everyone in the whole damn town knew it._

_Our quiet little town was no longer the town with ‘pep’ where Maple trees made the streets glow, and people were nice to each other just because they were happy to be neighbours._

_It was a town with murderers, stalkers, human trafficking, gangland turf wars and general misery business._

_Thanks to Betty, the FBI now had a connection between the Ghoulies and the abductions in Riverdale, so for several days after the incident at the strip club the FBI gained warrants to search known Ghoulie hangouts. There weren’t many places in Riverdale they could search because the Ghoulies seemed to mostly be based in Centerville now (and the only arrests made were for minor drug offences). Even so there were no signs of Carla Clayton or the Ellison Sisters. They conducted similar searches for the girls missing in Centerville, but again, they came up empty handed._

_Of course, the search warrants only succeeded in riling the Ghoulies up, and Sheriff Keller (and the South Side Serpents) had to deal with the backlash. And the Ghoulies were definitely making their presence in Riverdale known…_

“Archie!” Dexter bolted down the stairs into the arena, his eyes blazing with fury.

Archie already felt the dread setting in. “Who’s up there?” He asked quickly as he pulled off his boxing gloves. Eddy and Malcom stopped their sparring; they were the only kids currently in the Community Center, so Archie had been giving them detailed feedback.

Dexter didn’t speak until he was directly in front of Archie. “Ghoulies.” He said quietly. 

But not quietly enough. Malcom and Eddy gave each other grim expressions.

“Stay down here.” Archie said to the boys.

“You can’t fight them off yourself!” Eddy said, his voice becoming a beacon of panic.

Archie continued up the staircase. “I’m not going to fight them.” 

Archie wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when he walked outside, but he wasn’t going to let the Ghoulies anywhere near the inside of his Center. He loosened his shoulders and held his head up high as he opened the front door. 

Sure enough, a small group of Ghoulies had descended on the Andrews Community Center. They weren’t trying to get inside, but they _were_ all hanging out in front of the garage doors, perched on top of and around a beaten up Volkswagen Beetle. Two of them, Archie recognised as the Ghoulies that were in the opposing car when he and Jughead street raced them for the Whyte Wyrm. The taller one was Malachai, the leader… but he couldn’t recall the name of the other one. 

Malachai was grinning from his seat on the car’s roof. His eyes were wild, and he held up his hands before he jumped off onto the ground. “We come in peace.” He said, and the other Ghoulies snickered and jeered. 

Archie crossed his arms over his chest. “What do you want, Malachai?” He asked calmly. Archie was no stranger to hiding his feelings - a useful trait, because now the Ghoulies couldn’t see how stressed he was about their presence.

“Oooh not very friendly today, Red Reaper.” Malachai took a few steps closer until he was merely eight feet away from Archie.

Archie held his ground. “I don’t have time for your games. So either tell me what you want or get away from my Community Center.”

If possible, Malachai’s grin got wider. “A man of his own volition, I see.” Malakai looked over his shoulder at the other recognisable Ghoulie, then back at Archie. “Shame you’re such a snitch, Andrews. Otherwise I might be _calling_ you to join our ranks.”

Archie had a momentary flashback to Jughead shaking him after the drag race, telling him the Ghoulies would want his head “on a stake” for calling Sheriff Keller. _Damnit,_ Archie thought, but he kept his cool. “I’m already spoken for.” Archie said determinedly, and in a bold display of bravery (or stupidity) he lifted his right sleeve and showed Malachai his snake tattoo.

“Jones beat me here, I see.” Malachai raised his eyebrows. “Well you tell your Serpent buddies that I don’t care if they made you a snake, this is still Ghoulie territory.”

A new voice joined the fray. “Not anymore it isn’t.” Archie looked behind him and noticed Fangs and Slash walking up from behind the beaten up car. They passed the sneering Ghoulies and joined Archie’s side, leather Serpent jackets proudly across their shoulders.

Some of Malachai’s mirth disintegrated. “Bad enough you Serpents let snitches into your club, but now you boys are running with the _cops_.” He directed his piercing glare at Fangs. “I can’t believe _you,_ of all people, would be helping Keller take out your old clients. Pharmaceuticals lose its appeal did it, Fogarty?”

Archie didn’t let his shock show on his face. Fangs kept his eyes locked on the Ghoulies’ leader. “I hope you’re not threatening an officer of the _law,_ Malachai.” He took a step forward. “That wouldn't look very good to your probation officer, now would it?”

Malachai rolled his eyes. “You teenagers are a joke. Let’s roll, Ghoulies.” The other gang members started to pile into the beetle, but Malachai remained for a few more moments. “You boys let Jones know I have a surprise coming for him very soon.”

Archie, Fangs and Slash didn’t move until the car was gone.

…….

_Betty Cooper wasn’t going to let her recent abduction attempt stop her from living her dreams. If even the looming threat of teenage parenthood wasn’t enough to stop her from getting ready for Yale, then neither were the schemes of the Ghoulies…_

“Has anyone ever told you that you take organisation to an insane level?” Jellybean asked Betty.

Betty looked up from her notebook and placed it on the window seat beside her. Jellybean was sitting cross-legged in the middle of Betty and Jughead’s bed, holding a folder in one hand and a notebook in the other. A quizzical look was on her face as she looked over the other, scattered paper notes that were strewn across the bed. 

Betty smirked. “Well, I’ve been called _insane_ before.” 

“They’re onto something, Betty. No offence.” Jellybean met Betty’s eyes. “How do you fit all this crap in your brain? There’s no way… and what’s _this_?” She held up a binder filled with newspaper clippings.

“That one has all the articles I could find that seemed to reference gang activity in Riverdale, Centerville and any of the other local towns.”

Jellybean nodded slowly and put it down. She picked up a small white board with a mind map in the middle. “Alright… and all the names floating around this… _cloud_?”

Betty looked back down at her notebook for a moment. “I thought maybe looking at all my Locker-Fiend suspects through a different medium would help me make more connections between them all and eliminate some.”

“Did it work?” 

“Yes, actually. I’m reasonably certain that Mr Honey, the ex-Gargoyles and the football players had nothing to do with it, and I’ve realised that there are no _obvious_ connections between the other suspects, so I’m going to look further into that… the whole locker fiasco is kind of low on my list of priorities since High School is over, but I want to find out who did it so I can figure out where they got the images from.” Betty smiled. “Jughead is looking into that today… see how I’ve circled the cheerleaders names in red? I figured they’ll be the easiest ones to investigate. But if I’m being honest… I think I already know who it was.”

“Really?” Jellybean asked with wide, curious eyes. 

Betty nodded. “Yeah… you know those photos you stumbled across at the bunker?” Jellybean nodded slowly, and Betty continued. “Well, it sounds like some of them may have been the same as the ones from our bedroom, which were also taped to my locker. I have a theory that whoever our Bunker Stalker is, and they have a connection to our Locker-Fiend. They may even be the same person.” 

She actually suspected that it was _Ethel_ who’d created the creepy photo wall in the bunker. It was hard to say for sure without seeing the wall in person - but Ethel had been obsessed with Jughead for what felt like years, and Betty knew for a fact that Ethel was no stranger to the bunker. The only problem was, Betty had seen Ethel in the rec room not long before the defaced locker was found by her friends; it would have been difficult to get away unnoticed… 

… and so she wasn’t going to rule out any of her other suspects.

“Cool, well, I reckon you’ll figure it out.” Jellybean put the board down and pointed to the large cork board that sat in a lecture-stand. “What’s with all the red string on there?”

Betty’s gaze slid over to Jughead’s _Sex Tape Board._ “Jughead was trying to find connections to all the tapes of us having sex that’ve popped up lately.” Betty couldn’t help but smile at it fondly. “When we first started dating, me and Jughead used to use Murder Boards to try and solve the town’s mysteries… I guess the habit kind of stuck.”

“That is the most,” Jellybean paused to think of the right word, “ _disturbingly_ cute thing I’ve ever heard.” She stared at the board in awe for a moment, then shook her head and reached out to hold up a page filled with colour coded squares. “Are these… nope, I got nothing. What are these?” 

Betty inspected the sheet, and laughed. “I combined mine and Jughead’s college schedule for semester one so I know what times we’ll both be in class. The green slots are when we’re both free, red is Jughead’s classes, blue are mine, purple means we’re both in class… see the writing inside the boxes? Those are the unit codes, and the time is written along the side...”

Jellybean held the paper sideways to get a better look. “This is some actual hieroglyphics level crap. Why do you even need this?”

Betty paused and considered. “It keeps me calm to know I have a plan… I guess getting organised helps me focus; it’s keeping me from freaking out about how little time we’re gonna have when the baby comes… did you know I’m going to give birth before our semester one classes end?”

Jellybean’s eyes widened. “Whoa… that’s like, before the end of the year.” 

“Sure is.” Betty said, blowing out a gush of air.

“Oh my God, I’m gonna be an Aunty this year…” Jellybean’s expression filled with awe, then she blushed and looked down. “Sorry, you’re probably stressing about motherhood and I’m here being g-eed up.”

“No, it’s okay.” Betty said quickly. “It’s nice that you’re excited.”

“How do you feel about being a Mom?” Jellybean asked. 

Betty was struck by how genuine Jellybean always was in her questioning. No judgement, or lectures… just pure curiosity. “Honestly, sometimes it doesn’t feel real.” Betty fiddled with the ring on her hand; it was becoming a new nervous habit of hers, but it was better than clenching her fists. “I just can’t see myself as a parent… this was never in the cards for me. It was always: go to college, then get a career, then work for at least five years, then buy a house, then get married, _then_ have children… and now…” Betty sighed. “Now I’m going to be an eighteen year old parent.” She looked up at Jellybean. “One thing I’ll say is that I am glad Jughead is being so supportive of me. A lot of expectant dads his age don’t stick around…” Betty shook her head. “Sorry, that’s a lot to dump on you…”

“It’s okay, honestly.” Jellybean put down the schedule and let her hands fall into her lap. “It’s _real,_ what you’re saying. You’re not tiptoeing around me because you’re scared of my reaction. Or worried I’m going to start crying.” 

Betty thought over the past week, and recalled several times when the Jones men had treated Jellybean as though she were made of glass, and they had to keep her happy at all times, lest she shatter. “They’re just worried about you. You did find a dead body, after all. That’s a big deal, JB.”

“I guess.” Jellybean shrugged and looked down at one of the many piles of notes on Betty’s bed. “It was pretty horrible, but to be honest it was so dark I could barely see her…” she huffed. “But in a way, it’s kind of good that I found her, you know? She wasn’t left there rotting away, and the cops found a lot of evidence… it’s scary to know I was probably in the forest at the same time as the people who killed her, but her family knows what happened to her now. And that’s better than it remaining a mystery forever.” 

Betty nodded. “You’re right, JB. But you know, if it does upset you, you can always talk to me if you don’t want to talk to your dad and brother.”

“Thanks, I will.” She squared her shoulders. “At least I’m no longer the only person in the house who’s never dealt with a dead body.”

Betty sucked in air sharply. “Jellybean!” The younger girl started laughing, and Betty couldn’t help but let out a single laugh. “Your humour is even darker than Jughead’s.”

“Thank you for that high honour of praise.”

Betty let out another laugh as her eyes widened. “How do you even know…”

“It’s _amazing_ what you overhear when people think you’re playing minecraft.” She had the audacity to _wink_ at Betty. Jellybean kept giggling for a few more seconds. “Okay, let’s go back to talking about more exciting things, like my future niece or nephew! Are you going to find out what it is?”

Betty laughed. “Me and Jug haven’t really talked about that yet.”

“Fair. What about names? Do you have any you like?”

Betty started to feel nerves reeling their ugly head. “We haven’t really talked about that either…” 

“Um, okay… what about…” Jellybean paused and tried to think of better questions, not noticing the growing look of panic on Betty's face as she realised how unprepared she was for this baby. “Oh! I know: how is this ancient Egyptian-style calendar going to assist with your child-rearing?”

Betty breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, when me and Jughead start college I’m going to be six months pregnant already.”

Jellybean nodded, intrigued. “Damn, that’s pretty far along.”

“Yeah,” Betty nodded. “I’m _hoping_ that he or she won’t be born until my due date… which is the 18th of December, by the way, right in the last week of classes when all our exams will be on. But I could honestly go into labour at any point during the semester and then me and Jughead will have a baby to consider. It’ll make life a lot easier if we know ahead of time _exactly_ what our schedules entail so that we’re prepared to fit the baby into our college lives.”

“Smart.” Jellybean tapped the side of her forehead.

Betty felt a little more confident. “Obviously whoever _isn’t_ in class will have the baby with them, and the schedule you’re looking at will help us keep track of which one of us is busy and which one of us is free. But when we’re _both_ in class - see the purple squares? - then we’ll need to decide who’s keeping the baby with them or skipping that class. I guess we’ll be taking turns in those classes, depending on what our professors think, or how hard the classes are… there’s a lot to consider and I just want to be organised early.”

“Wow, you’ve actually got your shit together.” Jellybean looked impressed. “I think Jughead is lucky to have _you_ with _him_ , to be honest. Not the other way around.” She laughed to herself. “And also, the fact that you’re trying to get a higher education despite the literal ‘bump’ in the road is _badass_.”

Betty smiled. “Thanks, JB… I really needed to hear that.”

……. 

Jughead had a Betty Cooper Approved list of suspects with him on who could have stuck the screenshots of their sex tape to her locker. It seemed tedious to be trying to track down _that_ person when the true mystery of who uploaded the video, _and_ who was spying on them in their home was still out there… but to get to the ‘princess’ one must first ‘battle the dragon’, so to speak. An analogy that Betty would, perhaps, roll her eyes at, but one Jughead repeated to himself as he tracked down the cheerleaders Betty suspected were responsible for the locker incident.

Through facebook Betty had worked out that Ella had a Summer job at the Bijou (it stung Jughead a little to know that they’d _definitely_ given her the position he was hoping to score). So while he waited around the diner for the UberEats app to give him the next order from Pop’s (there was always at least _one_ before 11AM), Jughead decided to leave his dad’s bike at the diner and make the five minute walk to the Bijou to see if he could gain any information.

Within two minutes of locating Ella and trying to garner if she knew who was responsible for the locker photos, the vivacious manager of the Bijou (who actually still hadn’t called Jughead back) set her glare on him and practically marched over to the pair.

“What’s the problem Ella?” The manager couldn’t be more than twenty one, but she had the backbone of a forty year old prison guard. “Is this guy bothering you?”

Ella, who had become flustered and was dodging all of Jughead’s questions - which was _suspicious,_ certainly, but not exactly _confirmation_ \- quickly took a step back from Jughead. “Um, _yes,_ he’s harassing me.”

Jughead put his hands up to his chest. “Hey, I wasn’t _harassing_ her, I was just asking—”

“ _Nope,_ I don't want to hear it. Get out before I call security!” The manager’s voice raised, and a few of the lingering customers turned their heads toward the trio in curiosity.

Jughead wasn’t in the mood for a cat fight, especially while he was growing angry with the smug look on Ella’s face, so he made his way outside without another word. He was still grumbling to himself in frustration as he got back to the motorcycle.

A few hours reprieve were granted while the lunchtime rush provided him with a much-needed distraction, and after he’d made his twelfth delivery of the day he took a moment to look through his list of people to interrogate. He still had Lexi and Brittany to talk to before he set his sights on Louis and Ethel, but a part of him was hoping the answer would be as simple as one of the junior cheerleaders. Louis brought up a lot of dark stuff from his own junior year, and Ethel was supposed to be his friend. If the Locker-Fiend was one of _them_ , it would complicate matters. So as he leaned against his bike he decided to think about the _other_ problem he wanted to tackle today.

Namely, his issue with sex. 

Jughead’s heart was racing as he googled therapists in Riverdale. The night that Betty was almost abducted had been the final straw for him to actually start looking for someone who could help him _fix_ this insane problem…

… That awful night, they had arrived home at almost three AM, completely exhausted both physically and emotionally, to find Archie and Mary Andrews in their kitchen with Jellybean. After the news of Betty’s attempted abduction had broken to the Serpents (thanks to the Serpent security guards who worked at the strip club) FP and several others had unofficially joined the search for the red van and any Ghoulies who might’ve been in the area. 

Considering the traumatic event she’d been through the past week, and the nature of the recent abductions, FP hadn’t wanted to leave Jellybean alone in the house. But as Alice had immediately rushed to Betty’s side, FP asked Mary Andrews to keep an eye on Jellybean until Alice returned. Despite his protests (“Mom, I want to help FP look for those scumbags!” “You are not leaving my _sight_ Archibald Andrews, so help me…”) Archie joined in with the semi-baby sitting of Jellybean.

Jughead noted that Archie was very pale, and had a panic-driven look in his bloodshot eyes as he told Betty he was glad she was okay. If Jughead wasn’t so freaked out and drained from Betty’s near-abduction by the Ghoulies, he may have taken the time to check if _Archie_ was okay… 

It wasn’t long later that everyone finally went to bed. Jughead wanted nothing more than to slide under the covers and hold Betty closer to him, but she seemed to have other things on her mind. 

Her arms wrapped around his neck and she pulled him down into a desperate and ferocious kiss. Jughead was caught a little off-guard, but he responded with as much eagerness as his girlfriend. He lifted her up and she responded by wrapping her legs around his waist. Almost without conscious thought he made the short distance to their bed. He sat down on the edge and she straddled him. Her kisses were frantic, and she groaned into his mouth as he moved his hands down to her backside.

“Juggie, I need you…” she murmured, then delved back into kissing him. 

His heart was racing as he pulled her closer into his embrace, and he felt her grinding down onto him. For a fleeting moment he thought: _yes, this is happening, she wants to feel alive after a near-death experience and I am desperate to assist her._ But then Jughead’s mind started to catch up with his body, and he could feel the stress and the panic starting to set in again… 

_No, fuck, not now… please._ He chanted in his mind. Betty had tears in her eyes when she pulled away from him. She looked into his own eyes for a moment; he couldn’t be certain as to what she saw, but after a moment she untangled herself from him and stood up. “I’m sorry, Jug.”

“No! Don’t be sorry.” He said, and he watched in agony as she moved into her side of the bed, fully clothed. 

Jughead slid under the covers next to her, worried that she would keep her distance… but she didn’t. She rolled over and cuddled up to his chest. Jughead was momentarily relieved that she still wanted to be closer to him… until he realised she was shaking, and moments later, he’d wrapped his arms around her while she cried into his chest. 

“Betty… I’m sorry. I’m sorry… You’re okay… you’re going to be okay.” he rubbed her back and placed a kiss on the top of her head.

“I know. _I know._ ” She sniffled. “Don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault. It’s just hormones. And I forgot you… I’m sorry. I’m good.” But she was still shaking, trying to mute the gasps that came from her lips. 

Jughead pulled her in closer. He didn’t try to stop her from crying, just kept rubbing circles into her back and tried to give her comforting vibes while he fought off his own nerves. He felt sick for more reasons than one; Betty was clearly upset, and he couldn’t give her the type of comfort she was craving…

After she’d mostly calmed down, Jughead heard her speaking in a low tone. “Juggie, do you think Carla Clayton is dead?” Betty asked, her voice muffled by his shirt. 

The question made him feel even more ill. “I don’t know.”

“What happened to Parvati Dasgupta could be happening to Carla right now… it could have happened to _me_ today.” 

Jughead didn’t want to think about Betty’s cold, lifeless body lying across the ground in Fox Forest… just the idea of it made his insides freeze and his heart clammer in his chest. “We can’t think about that Betty. You’re going to start spiralling into the ‘what if’s’.” He whispered. “All we know for sure is that Carla Clayton was abducted…”

“You know they didn’t _just_ abduct and murder Paravati, right?” Betty looked up at Jughead with terror in her eyes. “I’ve heard some _disgusting_ things, Juggie. Awful stuff…”

Jughead _had_ heard several disturbing factoids about Parvati’s murder from Charles. “That didn’t happen to you, Betty. And it won’t, I’m not going to let it.”

“But there _are_ more girls missing, Jug. I can’t just sit by and do nothing…” Betty wasn’t looking at Jughead anymore. He could tell that her mind was already concocting some sort of revenge-investigation scheme, but all Jughead could contemplate was the fear that he had almost lost her, and the now desperate desire he felt to show her how important she was to him… 

… So, several days and countless sessions of overthinking later, and Jughead was in his current position: leaning against his Dad’s bike as he scrolled through possible therapists. Ms Burble popped up in his search, but the school counselor couldn’t exactly help him now.

He tried a few different websites - there really weren’t many therapists in or around Riverdale - but gave up when the cheapest one he could speak to (for the low low price of two _hundred_ and eighty dollars) was booked out until December. 

Feeling a little crestfallen and completely frustrated, Jughead scrolled up the search page again and looked back at Ms Burble’s listed number. On a whim, he decided to try calling her.

She answered on the third ring. “Gina Burble’s office, how can I assist you?”

“Um, hi Ms Burble. It’s Jughead… Jones.”

There was a pause. “Like I’d need clarification on _which_ Jughead you are.” She laughed. Jughead already felt a little lighter. “Hi. How are you going?”

_What a loaded question,_ thought Jughead. “I’ve been… _going._ ” He let out a nervous laugh. “I’ve actually been trying to look for a therapist but I’m not getting anywhere. I was hoping you could recommend one to me that won’t require me to sacrifice a kidney to afford an hour of their time.”

Jughead could practically _hear_ Ms Burble smirking through the phone. “I see. Well, what if you spoke to a licensed psychologist for free?”

Surprise filled Jughead. “Wait, there’s a way I can do that?” 

“You could come see me?”

Jughead felt an odd mix of hope and disbelief. “But… I graduated already. How can I still talk to you?”

“I have my own private practice that I run on Saturdays and throughout school vacation periods. Sometimes I see students during those times, and the school board subsidises their sessions. Mr Honey recently convinced the board to subsidise Riverdale High’s graduates for their first year _after_ graduating as well.” Ms Burble explained. 

Jughead’s mind reeled. “He did? That’s…”

“Not exactly within the realm of the demonic persona you’ve given him in your head?” She chuckled. “I understand, he can be a little… _strict,_ but he does care about his students' wellbeing; throughout their high school years and beyond.”

Jughead felt that Mr Honey being called ‘a little strict’ was the understatement of the year.

“If coming to speak to me is something that interests you,” Ms Burble continued. “I’d be happy to give you a session today; I had a cancellation for three PM. And it would come at no charge to you.”

Jughead pulled the phone from his ear to check the time. He’d have fifteen minutes to get there. It _was_ doable… “The thing is, Ms B, my, ahh… _issue,_ isn’t exactly in the realm of ‘high school’ related topics.” Jughead could feel heat creeping up his neck.

“If it’s something I haven’t dealt with before, Jughead, I’ll be very surprised…”

…… 

Ms Burble’s private practice wasn’t at the school; she’d set up her garage as her own personal office. It was so different from the drab, worn-out plaid and leather vibes of the school counsellor’s office that Jughead actually paused and looked around the room when he entered. 

The garage was large, and the atmosphere was spacious and warm. The walls were painted pastel blue and she had several multi-coloured art pieces hung up on the walls. There were no book shelves, but she did have an old fashioned computer in the corner of the room. 

There were some typical therapist’s office features, such as a plush grey couch and a leather armchair in the middle of the room. A big whiteboard hung opposite the couch and an assortment of crayons, markers, paper and craft items were stacked inside of the shelves below the whiteboard. But to Jughead’s surprise, there were several deep blue beanbags and large patchwork cushions placed off to the side of the room.

Ms Burble smiled as she followed Jughead through the doorway. “Not what you expected?”

“Not exactly. It’s so… _bright_.” Jughead’s eyes were drawn to a vibrant rainbow elephant canvas that hung over one of the beanbags.

“I see a lot of teenagers and younger children in here.” She said. Jughead nodded, realising the purpose of the craft station. “But I find that even some adults appreciate colour, whether they’ll admit it or not.” Ms Burble moved over towards the leather armchair. “I find light blue colours are the most calming. I’ve tried a few different wall paints but this one has been my favourite.” She indicated to the wall. “Take a seat wherever you want to and we’ll get started.”

Jughead contemplated sitting on one of the patchwork cushions, but maybe he’d save that for another day - assuming these sessions would last more than one day. He sat down on one end of the couch and Ms Burble picked up her clipboard and sat in the armchair adjacent to him. 

Ms Burble picked her pen up off her clipboard. “So what was the catalyst for you to come in today?”

Jughead felt the heat rising in his neck again. “I’m having some problems… with Betty.”

Ms Burble raised her eyebrows. “As in, with something Betty is doing? Or something in your relationship?”

“Neither - it’s me, really. I’m the one having problems, but it’s affecting Betty too.” 

Ms Burble noted something down. “Are these problems related to your sex life, by any chance?”

Jughead knew he was blushing now, but he tried to keep his composure. “Yes… how can you tell?”

“I’ve been doing this a long time, Jughead.” She smiled. “There are plenty of teenage boys that have issues related to their sexuality. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. And there are things we can do to work on any of the problems you’re having.”

“Okay…” Jughead swallowed. “It’s like I _can’t_ have sex.” Ms Burble looked at him expectantly, so he explained more. “When we try to I… panic.” 

“Do you have panic attacks similar to the one you had at school?”

“I did once.” Jughead said, thinking of the one he’d had before his fight with Betty. “Betty had to get my Dad to help me breathe through it… but the other times we’ve tried to have sex we had to stop because I was getting ‘panicky’, so to speak.”

Ms Burble scribbled down something on the clipboard. “What goes through your mind when this happens?”

Jughead wasn’t too keen to delve into that part of his brain - but it was why he’d come in to see her, after all… “Someone could be watching us.” Jughead tried to squash the thoughts from his mind - he didn’t want to have _another_ panic attack in front of Ms Burble.

“And what about _after?”_

Jughead thought about what exactly it was that went through his mind. “It’s more _feelings_ than thoughts. Mostly I feel exposed…” 

Ms Burble nodded. “Okay, and what else?”

“Guilty…” Jughead said. He tried to swallow, but it didn’t get rid of the lump forming in his throat.

“What about?”

Jughead cleared his throat. “I feel guilty for disappointing Betty.”

“Disappointing her in general, or sexually?” There was no look of judgment on Ms Burble’s face. 

Jughead managed not to cringe as he replied. “Sexually. We’re both… _frustrated._ ” 

Ms Burble nodded. “Has Betty told you that she’s disappointed in you?”

The question caught Jughead off guard. “No… no she hasn’t. But it’s been…” Jughead did a quick mental calculation. “Around seven or eight weeks since we last had sex.”

“And prior to that were you both fairly _active_?” 

Jughead tried very hard not to be embarrassed. “Yeah, I guess. For a few months we were doing it almost every day.” 

“Easier to find the time when you’re living together, I assume.” Ms Burble noted.

“Yeah, exactly.” Jughead felt himself starting to relax a little. “I mean, we weren’t quite as ‘active’ when we first started dating, especially compared to most of our friends.” Jughead felt a laugh come out involuntarily. “This is going to sound pretentious, but I used to think me and Betty had a better relationship than some of our friends because we could just hang out and talk or do other things we enjoy without needing to have sex.” 

Ms Burble smirked. “That’s not pretentious. Sex shouldn’t be the primary focus of a relationship, at least not at your age. You’re still figuring out your own bodies and your own sexualities - and sex can be overwhelming, especially when you’re young and still growing up. Being the age of consent doesn’t always mean you’re ready for sex to be part of your usual ‘routine’, so to speak.” 

“That makes sense.” Jughead said. “Even when Betty first started living with us we weren’t having sex all the time. When we could get away with it, yeah… but it’s hard to get in the mood when you know you have your dad down one end of the house and your younger sister in the next room.” Jughead contemplated the progression of their sex life over their senior year. “We definitely upped our game last year, I’ll say that. Any time our parents left the house we were on each other. Then being away at Stonewall was hard, because sometimes we’d go for _weeks_ without sex.”

“Did Betty ever indicate she was ‘disappointed’ in you during those times?”

“Well, no…” Jughead frowned. “Disappointed isn’t the right word. We’d both become frustrated after a while though. Sometimes it was hard to concentrate on school work…” Jughead admitted, blushing again. “Hormones are a nightmare addiction.”

Ms Burble chuckled. “If Betty managed to survive the ‘nightmare’ periods of no sex while you were at boarding school, _without_ being disappointed in your relationship, what makes you think that she’d be disappointed in it now?” 

“Because…” Jughead frowned. “Well, it’s different now.”

“Why?”

“Because back then we couldn’t do it because we couldn’t get away from our families, or else we wanted to go out and do something fun instead of being in bed all weekend, or our friends had parties on the nights I was home, or we had too much homework so there was no time for sex…” Jughead shrugged. “This time we can’t because I just can’t… get in the _mood_ , if you know what I mean.” He hoped she’d pick up on the subtext, without him outright saying it… She seemed to understand. 

“What’s really important, Jughead, is that you don’t put pressure on yourself to perform, or satisfy your partner. You need to feel comfortable with having sex before you try doing it again. Which is why, for _homework,_ ” her eyes twinkled with mischief for a moment at her own joke, “I want you to take sex completely off the table.”

“I mean, sex _is_ off the table at the moment.” Jughead said bitterly.

“No, it isn’t.” Ms Burble said. Jughead raised his eyebrows in confusion until Ms Burble continued. “At the moment, whenever you and Betty are ‘getting hot and heavy’, I believe the current phrase is, there is an expectation that it’s going to lead to sex. And right now, you have a problem with that, so it’s really important that you communicate this honestly with Betty. What you need is a safe space for you to get comfortable with your sexuality and be able to take baby steps towards full on intercourse.”

Jughead really hated the word _intercourse_ but didn’t let himself cringe over it. “I guess I could try that…”

“If Betty is the supportive partner I suspect she is, I am sure she’ll be on board with it. Especially if it’ll help you.” Ms Burble stood up, and Jughead followed suit. “This isn’t going to be a quick cure that’ll get you back to having sex overnight. It’s going to be a process, and you may end up feeling frustrated with yourself sometimes, but it will be temporary. So like I said. For homework: kissing, cuddling and making out is fine, but no sex.”

“No sex…” Jughead repeated.

“No sex.” Ms Burble nodded. “Not until you’re ready. I’d like you to do this for two weeks and then come back to see me, and we can assess what progress you have or haven’t made…”

…….

  
  


Jellybean decided she and Betty needed a snack break after their hours of hard work (and moral support, in Jellybean’s case), so the girls began descending stairs, still giggling about something trivial they’d seen on TikTok. They were about to turn the corner of the staircase and be in view of the dining room, when Jellybean held her hand out to stop Betty.

Before Betty could react her ears caught up to her, and she heard what had stopped Jellybean in her tracks. 

FP and Alice were walking into the kitchen through the back door, and sounded deep into an… _argument_ wasn’t quite the right word. More of a passionate discussion.

“Their fights are _so_ different to the ones Dad has with my Mom…” Jellybean whispered. Betty chuckled silently, and out of teenage curiosity continued to eavesdrop on FP and Alice’s conversation.

“...can’t keep looking, you need to focus on more important things.” Alice whispered harshly. 

“Alice, how am I supposed to prove our home is safe when there’s blood thirsty maniacs roaming free in the same town?” He was also speaking quietly, obviously trying not to let Betty and Jellybean overhear.

Unlucky.

“Then let the other Serpents help out - or even better, let Keller sort it out. We both know he’s hunting them down too.” Alice let out a noise of frustration. “You’re going to get yourself killed if you keep this up, and what is that going to prove?”

They didn’t say anything else for a long time, so Jellybean shrugged and nudged Betty, indicating she should follow her down the stairs.

FP was seated at the dining table with his head in his hands, and Alice was fussing about the kitchen, a worried look on her face. She smoothed it out and plastered on a smile as Betty and Jellybean entered the kitchen.

“Hey girls. You two hungry? I’m going to make a start on dinner.” Alice said, her voice now perfectly composed. 

Jellybean smiled back. “ _Starving,_ Alice. Thanks.” She practically skipped over to the dining table. She sat down calmly across from FP. “You okay Dad?”

FP jolted as if he was electrocuted and looked up. “Yes! All good JB. What have you been doing all day?”

Jellybean didn’t let any of her suspicion show on her face. “I was helping Betty go through like a _thousand_ Newspaper articles and public records. She’s trying to find more info on those girls who got kidnapped.”

FP suddenly went pale. “I don’t want you sniffing around that stuff, Jellybean.” FP set his gaze on Betty. “I’m serious. Betty, this isn’t some murder mystery you and Jughead can figure out through sticking your noses where they don’t belong. These people are dangerous, and I don’t want you two dragging Jellybean into any of that mess.”

Betty felt a confronting feeling of guilt. But before she could respond, Alice interjected. “Betty’s not an idiot, FP. She wouldn’t put JB in that kind of danger.”

There was an awkward pause for a moment, broken only by FP’s apology; “Sorry, Betty, I didn’t mean…”

“No, it’s okay. I understand.” Betty said quickly and looked down. 

Jellybean tried changing the subject. “Betty was also showing me her insane organisational skills. She’s literally gotten three people completely ready for college in the space of two days!” 

FP seemed confused for a moment, then his eyes displayed realisation that the third person was his incoming grandchild. Some of the colour returned to his cheeks in the form of a blush. 

“Well, we’re not _completely_ ready…” Betty said quietly. “I still need to call the student housing office and see if me and Jughead can transfer out of our dorm rooms and into a shared apartment or something. Our dorms are nowhere near each other, and I doubt the other students will appreciate either of us bringing an infant into the building.”

FP’s eyes were practically bugging out of his head. “How are you doing with all that stuff?” He cleared his throat uncomfortably. 

Betty tried to keep the surprise off her face; FP had avoided asking either her or Jughead about anything baby related since he’d found out about the pregnancy nearly two weeks earlier. “I can keep food down now so I’ve been feeling a lot better.” She tried to relax a little, but it was hard not to feel on edge. “I think Jughead appreciates not being woken in the middle of the night to the sound of me dry-retching.”

FP nodded, and his lips twitched very slightly. “Well, you two better enjoy sleeping while you still can…” his face went pale again, and he stood up from the table. “Excuse me, ladies.” He slowly walked over to the stairs and trudged upwards.

Jellybean turned to watch him, then sighed and spun back around. “He’s gone _full_ Nazi mode.” 

Alice paused in her mission to chop vegetables. “Don’t be too hard on your dad, JB. He’s under a lot of pressure at the moment.” She inspected the knife and returned to her dinner preparations.

“He’s still being weird about Betty’s pregnancy. He’s acting like they’re destroying his perfect North Side life.” Jellybean grumbled.

“Hey now, that’s not true…”

“Yuh, it is. And it’s just _rude_.” Jellybean frowned. “He hasn’t even _tried_ to talk to Jughead about it. Newsflash Dad, avoiding it isn’t going to make it go away.”

Betty walked over to join Jellybean at the table. “It’s okay, JB. FP is just really upset, and, you know… disappointed in Jughead. It’s a shock, I suppose. Apparently he really freaked out at the hospital…”

Jellybean started to nod solemnly, but Alice abruptly dropped her knife and spun around, making the other girls jump. “Wait, no, Betty.” Alice interjected as she walked over to the table. “That’s not true… is _that_ what Jughead thinks? God, FP…”

Jellybean and Betty gave each other confused looks. “Wait, so he’s _not_ angry then?” Jellybean asked. Betty bit her lip and hung on the answer.

Alice appeared flabbergasted. “Of course he isn’t angry! At Jughead _or_ Betty…”

“Then what’s with the moping, and the grumpiness, and the refusal to even bring up the topic of babies?” Jellybean asked, her eyebrows raised.

Betty couldn’t help but agree. “Yeah, he seems… really distant. And won’t look us in the eyes…” 

“Oh, Betty that’s not because of _you,_ or… the baby.” Alice said, a pleading expression in her voice. “I can understand why it may seem that way, but you have to believe me when I say that FP isn’t mad at you, or at Jughead. He needed a little bit of time to wrap his head around it, sure. But that _isn’t_ why he’s been acting a little… odd. Besides,” Alice said with a hint of exasperation, “he’s the last person who should be lecturing people on teen parenthood.”

Betty felt a huge weight lifting off her shoulders. She didn’t realise until now how suffocating it was, thinking that _she_ was the reason for all this tension between FP and Jughead; or more accurately, FP and _anyone_ he interacted with.

But Jellybean wasn’t nearly as relieved as Betty. “Wait, so… if it’s not because of Jug and Betty’s baby… then why the _hell_ is Dad in strict parenting mode all of a sudden?”

Betty tilted her head curiously as Alice avoided Jellybean’s eyes. “Oh, JB, it’s nothing that you need to worry about right now.”

Jellybean rolled her eyes - a move that would have gotten Betty sent to her room at age thirteen. “It worries me more that I _don’t_ know what’s wrong. And he won’t tell me, so…” Jellybean gave Alice her most pleading expression, and her voice wavered. “Can you _please_ tell me why Dad’s acting like this? It's scaring me…”” 

_You little manipulator,_ Betty thought, feeling both impressed and scandalised by the fake tears welling up in Jellybean’s eyes. Alice seemed to fall for the same trick that Betty had witnessed FP falling for on multiple occasions. Jellybean certainly had a backup career in acting if her engineering dreams ever fell through… 

Alice walked over and sat in the chair next to Jellybean. “Don’t be upset, honey. Your Dad’s alright, he’s just…” Alice sighed and put a comforting hand on Jellybean’s shoulder. “Looking for a new job has been quite stressful for him, there aren’t a lot of positions vacant in Riverdale. But don’t worry! We’re not about to be living on the streets or anything. I haven’t left the Register yet, and I won’t until one of us gets a new job.” 

Jellybean’s eyebrows furrowed. “Is that _all_?”

“Well, no…” Alice admitted, and Jellybean sat up a little straighter in concentration. “The Ghoulies have threatened several South Side businesses with raids if they don’t pay protection - do you know what that means?” 

Jellybean gave Alice a sly smile. “You do realise I was raised by _two_ gang members, right?” 

Alice let out a slight laugh. “Indeed… well, that’s been causing a lot of problems, and the Serpents are trying to get in the good graces of a lot of the residents in the South Side… but some of them are too scared of the Ghoulies to accept help from the Serpents. And of course there’s the missing girls. They tried to figure out where the Ghoulies were hiding them because Sheriff Keller couldn’t find anything the _legal_ way… but it didn’t really work out. It’s messy out there at the moment, JB. And since your Dad is the leader, the Serpents look to him for guidance… it’s a lot of pressure on his shoulders.” Alice stroked Jellybean’s hair. “But that’s what he’s been worried about. _Stressed_ about, I should say. It’s been playing on his mind, but he doesn’t want to worry you. So you just need to lay low for a while and try to keep yourself out of trouble.”

_She’s lying,_ Betty realised. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at her Mom. 

Betty had no doubt that everything Alice had said was _true_ \- Jughead had already relayed similar information to her about the Ghoulies’ recent activities on the South Side. But Betty knew her mother, and she could tell she was hiding something. Perhaps something like that FP was being sued… Betty took a moment to consider an untouched possibility: _could the lawsuit have anything to do with FP’s current state of stress?_ Certainly gang-related stress could be a significant factor in the pressure FP was under…

…but Betty doubted it was the whole story.

Alice’s eyes met Betty’s above Jellybean’s head, and Betty wondered how long it would take her mother to crack and tell the truth. Betty opened her mouth to argue, but Alice looked down and gave a quick jerk of her head. Betty halted her rebuttal of Alice’s explanation, and allowed her mother to reassure Jellybean.

Eventually Alice went back to preparing dinner, and Jellybean decided to head upstairs and play minecraft - though for the first time, Betty wondered if that was _really_ what Jellybean was up to… 

“Mom… what’s really going on?” Betty asked as soon as she’d checked to see if Jellybean was still lurking on the staircase. 

Alice started to peel potatoes over the sink. “Betty, when you need to know I will explain it to you.”

“So there _is_ something else.” Betty stated. She walked further into the kitchen and stood closer to her mother. “I know FP is being sued… is _that_ contributing to his current emotional state?”

Alice sighed in frustration. “Being _sued_ isn’t really what I’d call it… but _yes,_ Elizabeth. FP is stressed about the legal proceedings. And that’s all I’m going to say. It’s up to FP to talk to his kids, and I know for a fact that if I tell you what’s going on, Jughead will find out.” She glanced at her and raised an eyebrow. “Am I wrong?”

Betty frowned and leaned against the counter top. “But Mom, _why_ is he hiding it from them? That seems counter-productive…”

Alice was saved from answering by the ring of the doorbell. Betty pushed away from the counter, but before she could even take a step FP called from the second storey: “I’ll answer it!” Seconds later he was practically jogging down the staircase and up to the front door. “Yes?” FP said gruffly. He held the door open just wide enough to stand in, but not wide enough for whoever was on the other side to see into the house.

From the other side of the door, Betty recognised the voice. “Oh, good afternoon sir. I may not have the right house. Does Betty Cooper live here by any chance?”

Betty started to move towards the door as FP responded. “What’s your name, boy?” As intimidating as FP could be when he chose to be, Betty doubted the man on the other side of the door would be all that concerned with FP’s display of staunch masculinity.

“It’s okay, FP. This is my boss, Elio Grande.” Betty explained. When FP merely looked at Betty and made no move to open the door further, she continued: “He owns the strip club.”

FP huffed. “Right, right… come on in.” He opened the door further and made room to let Elio inside. 

Elio’s face held a neutral expression, though Betty sensed he was mildly amused by FP’s less-than-welcoming demeanour. “My apologies for the intrusion, I only came to see how you were holding up, Betty.” 

Betty’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “Oh, I’m alright… I’ve been through a lot worse than that.” Betty led Elio into the living room and sat down on the couch.

“As terrible as this may sound, I’m glad to hear it.” Elio sat adjacent to her on the smaller armchair. “From what I’ve heard, it seems like you held your own against those miscreants.” 

Betty smiled. “Thanks… it’s just sad that others haven’t been as lucky as me.”

“I agree.” Elio nodded sympathetically. 

Betty began turning Jughead’s ring around on her finger. It had become a new source of comfort for her, and she hadn’t dug her fingernails into her palms since he gave it to her, though there had been plenty of moments where it’d be understandable if she did. “Sorry for the less than friendly welcome, by the way… everyone around here is a little on edge since…”

Elio waved his hand in dismissal. “It’s no matter. I understand.” He shuffled on the couch to face her properly. “Betty, another reason I came here was to personally inform you that I’ve hired extra security. When the Hoe Zone reopens next week, if you choose to come back, you won’t need to worry about going out into the parking lot alone. There are new security guards at every exit, not just the front entrance, and they will escort staff to and from their cars. Or they’ll wait with staff members until their chaperone arrives. I’ve also installed more security cameras around the building, so the entire place will now be under constant surveillance.” 

Betty couldn’t help but feel touched. “Thank you for letting me know, Elio. I am sure my family will be able to sleep better knowing the Ghoulies are unlikely to get to me at work.”

Elio nodded. “So you _do_ plan to return? That makes my life a lot easier…” 

“Of course I’m coming back.” Betty laughed softly. “I enjoy the work, you pay me well above average and the tips are _amazing_. With the new security measures you’ve put in place, I see no reason I shouldn’t come back.” 

“That’s great news, Betty. Some of your coworkers… haven’t felt the same way.” 

Betty couldn’t really blame the other girls for being freaked out. “I guess I understand.”

“Indeed. It’s unfortunate, but I can’t be mad at anyone for leaving.” Elio frowned. “Since we’ve been closed, three of the strippers quit, and one of the waitresses gave me her two weeks notice.”

“Oh no…” Betty was genuinely sad to hear it. “Was Layla one of them?” She held her breath, hoping the answer would be ‘no’.

Elio shrugged. “She’s on the fence… she’s having some time off to re-evaluate.” Elio lowered his voice. “But just between you and me, Betty, I don’t believe Layla is going to come back. She has a toddler at home, and she’s terrified of him becoming motherless.” 

Betty’s heart sank. Layla was her favourite coworker, and the Hoe Zone would be a dull place without her. An uneasy feeling settled into Betty’s chest; should she even _be_ going back to work at a strip club she’d almost been abducted from? She was an expectant mother, and it would be a dangerous move for her…

_Joining the FBI will be dangerous too…_ a little voice of doubt whispered into Betty’s mind. She tried to keep the frown off of her face. Betty’s current career ambition was leading her into the ranks of the FBI. Charles was her biggest supporter in that regard (and low key pushed her in that direction any chance he could get), except for Jughead, who wanted her to have everything.

_But then a baby came along…_ the doubtful whisper appeared again. A dark feeling started to grow in Betty’s chest. Was having a baby going to put her out of the running for the FBI? She doubted it; surely plenty of FBI agents were parents… but then again, maybe Betty wouldn’t _want_ to join the FBI while she had a child at home. 

“We’re opening again next weekend…” Elio interrupted Betty’s spiralling thoughts. “I can’t tell you how much it would boost the other girls’ morale if you were there. You’re a fearless leader, Betty. I’ve sensed that in you - if you can be almost abducted and still show up at work, it’ll give the others more confidence in the new safety procedures I’ve set up.”

Betty pondered Elio’s words. _Fearless_ , he’d called her. She absentmindedly placed a hand over her lower abdomen. What kind of an example would she be setting for her child, if she wasn’t _fearless_ enough to strive for her goals in life. If she gave up before she even tried, how could she expect her child to try anything?

“I’ll be there.” Betty said, feeling confident in herself.

……. 

Archie learned from Fangs that Malachai’s sidekick’s name was _Verne_. Knowing this became extremely useful the next time the Ghoulies showed up at the Community Center. 

Or, _Ghoulie_ was a more accurate term, since it appeared that _only_ Verne was willing to grace Archie with his presence. Verne leaned casually against the door of a faded green van, smoking what looked like a joint but smelled suspiciously of mint leaves. As Archie emerged from the depths of the arena, he strolled confidently over to the Ghoulie alone. 

_“Verne.”_ Archie said pointedly, earning a raised eyebrow from the man. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” Archie kept his gaze locked on Verne’s smug expression.

Verne dropped the cigarette to the ground and stamped it out with his studded boot. “I’m here to warn you to keep your kids out of the House of the Dead.” Verne cocked his head to the side. “We wouldn’t want one of them to go _missing,_ would we?”

Archie recalled that the old Whyte Wyrm was currently being occupied by Ghoulies, and wondered if this was the building he referred to. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’ll keep it in mind.” 

Verne reacted by smirking and turning towards the van. “I was afraid you’d say that, so maybe _this_ will jog your memory.” He reached out to pull open the sliding side door of the green van. 

Inside was dark, but it wasn’t long before a second Ghoulie jumped out of the van. Archie recognised him instantly. They’d been in Juvie together, and he vaguely recalled the Ghoulie’s backstory: “ _I dropped out in the fourth grade to run drugs to support my Nanna…”_ the memory of that conversation replayed in Archie’s mind.

But not for long, because soon both Verne and (what was his name? Shoelace? Nike? No, wait, he remembered... it was-) _Laces_ were dragging two squirming bodies out of the back of the van. 

The bodies were Toby and Eddy. The Ghoulies dropped the boys roughly to the ground, and moments later dragged a struggling Malcom Moore from the van and shoved him down beside the other two. The boys weren’t in body binds, but their hands _were_ tied together behind their backs with zip cables and there was duct tape covering their mouths. For his part, Malcom looked fearful, Toby appeared to be trying to hide his own fear behind a death glare directed at Laces, and Eddy…

… well, Eddy had murder in his eyes. 

Archie straightened his back and took a step towards them. “You’d better let them go.” Rage was building in his chest, and he was ready to take both these Ghoulies out and drag the kids downstairs.

“Or what? You’ll call your fifteen year old army of wannabe boxers up here?” Verne rolled his eyes. “I’m terrified.” Verne reached down and grabbed Malcom’s hands. He pulled a switchblade out and cut the bindings on his wrists loose. Malcom groaned and braced himself against the ground for a moment, then hurriedly ripped off the duct tape from his lips. He winced at the sting of the tape while Verne cut the other two boys free from their zip-tie handcuffs. 

The boys all looked up between Verne and Laces in confusion. Verne merely raised his eyebrows at them and nodded at Archie; the three boys seemed to understand, and within seconds they’d scrambled to their feet and stumbled over to their red-headed leader. 

Archie didn’t take his eyes away from Verne as he addressed the boys. “Go downstairs guys. I’ll meet you in a minute.” Only Eddy hesitated before obeying, but soon all three boys disappeared into the building.

Verne reached his hands out to the side and gave Archie a half bow, his eyes still on the red-head. “You’re welcome.” He said sarcastically. 

Archie crossed his arms over his chest. “You brought them back.” 

Verne rolled his eyes. “Just paying my dues to the Director of the Andrews Community Center.” Laces looked uncomfortably between the two men, but didn’t try to add anything to the conversation. “You should be grateful it wasn’t Malachai who caught them lurking around the basement.”

“I am…” Archie uncrossed his arms. “Thank you for bringing them here.” Tied up and gagged as the kids had been, it was a lot better than if the Ghoulies had killed them, beaten them up, or even turned them over to the cops.

A gleam of something dark crossed Verne’s face. “They aren’t gonna find what they’re looking for when they’re buried six feet under in Fox Forest.” He said cryptically, before he turned towards the van again. As he walked, he called out: “The El Royale has always been on the Ghoulies’ side of town, Andrews… this is _our_ turf. Just giving you a heads up.” 

Archie took a tentative step backwards as both Laces and Verne started to get inside the cab of the van. He wasn’t sure how to take the encounter… they’d clearly _zip tied_ the kids’ hands behind their backs… but Archie hadn’t noticed even a scratch on any of the boys. And they’d brought them here, _safe,_ instead of retaliating… not exactly typical _Ghoulie_ behaviour.

Before closing his drivers-side door, Verne spared a moment to look back at Archie. “Keep those kids off the streets, man… nobody else is.” He slammed the door shut, and peeled out of the driveway. 

Archie waited to be sure they were gone, and allowed himself to take a few calming breaths before he hurried back into the Community Center and down into the arena.

All three boys were huddled together with a few of the ex-Leopold and Loeb inmates, who were listening to Eddy’s recount of what had transpired with wide eyes. They looked up at Archie as he descended the stairs, and a quiet hush came over the group. 

“What were you guys thinking?” Archie asked. Some of the panic he’d suppressed seeped into his voice, though Archie tried not to let it show.

Toby and Malcom looked nervously at Eddy, but Eddy wasn’t fazed. “It was my idea. Don’t be mad at them.” Eddy said.

Archie shook his disbelief. “I’m not mad, I’m _terrified.”_ Surprise filled the younger boys’ features. “They could have killed you, and none of us would have had any clue where you were.”

Eddy nodded, a blank expression on his face. “Okay, we’ll tell you next time.”

“That’s not the point!” Archie turned his gaze to Malcom. “You know who _will_ be mad? Your brother.” Malcom grimaced and looked down at his shoes. “It’s been less than two weeks since Munroe left to train for Notre Dame, and already you’re putting yourself into life threatening situations.” Archie sighed and continued to address the other boys. “You guys… I know you might not see it because there are South Side Serpents who train here with us, but most biker gangs are actually _dangerous._ They’re not all community driven like the Serpents are. The Ghoulies in particular are looking for any excuse to bash some skulls in. _And_ they’re probably responsible for all the teen girls’ disappearances lately.” 

“Exactly!” Eddy cried, his cool expression turning to one of despair. “Keller confirmed almost a week ago that the FBI think the Ghoulies took Ellie and Liz and they _still_ haven’t found them yet!”

Some of Archie’s worry left, replaced by sympathy for Eddy. “If the FBI can’t find them at any of the Ghoulies’ hangouts, what makes you think you and your friends can?” 

“I don’t want to just wait around until someone finds their dead bodies like that Centerville girl’s.” Eddy shrugged miserably. “I thought that maybe Sheriff Keller only saw what the Ghoulies wanted him to see. And that maybe the FBI missed something…”

Archie’s tension deflated. “I know you miss Ellie. But getting yourself killed isn’t going to help her or her sister.”

Eddy looked down, and Archie had never seen such a despairing look on the boy’s face. He understood where Eddy was coming from - Eddy had been with the same foster parents as Ellen Ellison for several years, before Ellen ( _Ellie,_ he reminded himself) got rehomed with her sister, and Eddy ran away. CPS intervened, and even though he’d been placed with other carers, and despite the one year age difference, Eddy and Ellie were still best friends, bonded together over their mutually tragic circumstances. The possibility that his best friend could be dead was eating Eddy up… and Archie knew exactly how that felt.

Archie didn’t want to falsely get Eddy’s hopes up, and placed a supportive hand on the teen’s shoulder… but in his head, he pondered the subtext in Verne’s words:

_“They aren’t gonna find what they’re looking for when they’re buried six feet under in Fox Forest.”_

Assuming Verne knew that Eddy and the boys were looking for Ellie and Liz… and suggesting that they wouldn’t find them if they were six feet under… could that mean that Verne was trying to subtly tell Archie that Ellie and Liz _weren’t_ six feet under…

…because they were still alive?

Verne seemed to be implying that everyone was looking for them in the wrong places. The only question was: _where_ was the right place?

……. 

Jughead felt a renewed confidence as he strolled down the main shopping street in Riverdale. He wasn’t quite ready to tell Betty anything along the lines of: _Ms Burble wants us to make out - for therapy._ But he was feeling a little lighter, and it had everything to do with the belief that there _would_ be a light at the end of this depressing, sexless tunnel.

Lexi was next on Jughead’s suspect list, followed by Brittney, the Vixens’ new HBIC… but Jughead decided to skip Lexi, and instead tackle the clear leader of the cheerleading trio. If he couldn’t crack Brittney, he doubted he’d be able to get any information out of her other henchman.

Coming in on the offensive didn’t work with Ella, so Jughead decided to go for a softer… more _flirtatious_ approach with the HBIC. Betty _had_ told him to use whatever means necessary to dig up dirt from the cheerleaders, after all. If he had to exploit or manipulate Brittney’s attraction to him for the greater good, then so be it. 

Brittney apparently worked at an ‘upcycled fashion’ boutique that doubled as a scented candle and crystal store. Jughead debated whether he should wait the extra fifteen minutes before the store closed and try to catch Brittney on her way out, but came to the conclusion that waiting for a teen girl in the parking lot of a clothing boutique probably would be a seedy idea at best.

Instead, he called on his inner socialite and strolled confidently into the boutique with a smile on his face.

Brittney flitted over to him with an unbothered, preppy energy. “Welcome to Earthly Energies! How may I be of— _oh,”_ she paused, and her polite facade dropped as her eyes raked over Jughead’s leather clad torso. _“Jughead,_ what can I do for _you?”_ She leaned against a counter covered in multi-coloured material and began twirling a piece of her long blonde hair between her fingers.

_Subtle,_ thought Jughead sarcastically. “I’m _so_ glad you asked. I actually came here looking for you.” He gave her his best ‘friendly’ smile.

Brittney’s eyes widened for a moment, and a sultry smile slid onto her face. “I see, well… I _get off_ in fifteen minutes if you don’t mind waiting…” she bat her eyelashes slightly, which only made Jughead feel a _little_ gross.

Jughead reached out to touch one of the brightly patterned scarves that hung to his right. “Well, that _would_ be perfect… but I do need to hurry. I have to get back home to Betty soon.” Maybe he’d laid it on too thick with the smile and the flirty comment.

Brittney seemed confused for a moment, but shrugged it off and gave him a smirk. “Well, I guess I can _assist_ you now if that’s what you want…” she stood up straighter and took a step towards him. “You wouldn’t want to keep your girlfriend waiting, would you Jughead?” She’d lowered her voice in what Jughead could only assume was supposed to be sexy.

It only made Jughead want to laugh. “No… she’s quite impatient.” Jughead winked at Brittney, and noticed the desire in the cheerleader’s eyes. “So if you wouldn’t mind… can you please tell me something?”

_“Anything.”_ Brittney practically crooned. She was getting dangerously close to Jughead’s personal space, so he needed to hammer the nail in, and soon.

Jughead took a quick breath then went for it. “Would you mind telling me why you taped all those photos to Betty’s locker?”

Brittney froze for a moment, but recovered quickly. “Now _why_ do you think I had anything to do with that?”

Jughead had to give it to Brittney, she wasn’t about to crack under pressure. At least, not until Jughead found her weak spot. “Oh well, you know… process of elimination. It would be such a _shame_ if someone found out it was _you_ who did it. I wonder what Mr Honey would think about the new cheer captain distributing child porn.”

Brittney scoffed, and the flirty smile turned into a smirk. “Well, if I _had_ done that, there wouldn’t be any way of proving it.” Brittney flicked her hair over her shoulder. “Besides, that sex tape is public property, as far as I’m concerned. You uploaded it to the internet, so now it’s time to accept the consequences. How do I know _you_ didn’t tape those screenshots to Betty’s locker?” 

_She definitely knows who did it,_ Jughead thought. Whether it was _her_ or one of her friends, though, remained to be seen. “Well, I saw Ella at the Bijou earlier, and she let slip that it was _you_ who did it all…” 

Brittney stared at him for a moment, and for a second Jughead thought she was going to crack - but then she snorted, and let out a few laughs. “Wow. Did you really think that was going to work?” She shook her head. “You clearly don’t understand the bonds of sisterhood if you think Ella would ever tell lies about me for her own gain.”

Jughead refrained from groaning, and wondered just how deeply the ‘bonds of sisterhood’ ran in these cheerleaders… “Damn,” Jughead sighed dramatically. “I guess I’m just going to have to tell Sheriff Keller that it’s _Lexi_ who’s stalking Betty.” 

Jughead turned around and took a step towards the door. 

“Why would you think Lexi is stalking Betty?” She asked. Jughead could hear the worried emotion starting to work it’s way into Brittney’s voice.

Jughead looked at Brittney over his shoulder. “Well, we’ve been building a case against Betty’s stalker, and the final clue just fell into place…” Jughead tried to come up with a bluff on the spot, and he thought he may have struck just the right nerve with Brittney. “You see, some of the photos on Betty’s locker weren’t from the sex tape. They were taken much later, and also without our consent. They’ve also been found in other places around Riverdale. So if it isn’t _you_ who took them, and it’s not _Ella…_ then it has to be Lexi.” Jughead gave Brittney a grin. “Betty will be _so_ happy to know exactly who it is that has been following her.”

Brittney’s eyes widened as Jughead turned around. His hand was on the door handle, and he was about to push it open when Brittney practically yelled: “Wait!”

_Gotcha,_ thought Jughead. “Is there something I was missing?”

Brittney stood in front of him, and her words came out in a breathless rush. “It wasn’t me who taped those photos to Betty’s locker… I promise.” Brittney said, and Jughead had the feeling she was being truthful. “But if I tell you who did it, you have to _swear_ that you’re not going to report them to the cops. And you absolutely _can’t_ tell Betty.”

Jughead was instantly filled with anticipation. “On my honour as a Serpent, I won’t call the cops about this if you tell me who did it and where they got the photos from.”

Brittney closed her eyes for a moment, and all semblance of the self-assured confidence she previously had faded away. “It _was_ Lexi… but you can’t go attacking her for it. She’s just going through a really rough time right now and is doing stupid things to make herself feel better.”

Jughead let Brittney see his frustration. “Being stressed is no reason to stalk someone, or peek into other people’s windows at night and take photos of them having sex.” 

“She isn’t stalking Betty - she only put those photos up on her locker, and wrote Serpent Slut on it. That’s it!” Brittney shook her head furiously. “You don’t understand… Lexi hates Betty…”

“So that makes it okay?” Jughead’s nostrils flared.

“No, no. It’s wrong, I knew it was… but please try to understand where she’s coming from.” When Jughead merely crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows expectantly, Brittney continued. “Last year… Lexi’s older sister was murdered by the Black Hood at Junior Prom.”

Jughead’s insides felt like a balloon that had just come into contact with a needle. “Her sister…” Jughead thought back to his Senior Prom, and remembered the memorial Cheryl and Toni had painstakingly put together in honour of all the lost students. The image of a curly-haired, kind girl who he’d never spoken to personally appeared in his mind. “Lexi is Nelly’s sister?” A grim expression cemented itself on Jughead’s face.

Brittany nodded, and tears started to form in her eyes. “Nelly was the nicest girl I’ve ever met… and the Black Hood slit her throat open for no reason. Betty’s _father_ killed Lexi’s sister, purely because she happened to be in the way when he was going after his true target.” 

Jughead didn’t know what to say.

Brittney continued on. “Every day for _months_ Lexi would cry in the bathrooms at school. She would start panicking if she ever saw Betty in the hallways… and she needed _major_ therapy. She still isn’t over it. I don’t think anyone _gets_ over something like that.” Brittney had a pleading look in her tear-filled eyes now. “Lexi learned to turn her fear and depression into hatred for Betty… and when that sex tape came out, she _relished_ in seeing Betty even a smidgen as upset as she’d been the last year.” Brittney sighed. “I know it’s messed up, but when Lexi told me what she’d done to Betty’s locker… I was proud of her.”

Jughead wasn’t sure what was worse: the reasoning behind Lexi’s decisions, or the fact that he _almost_ felt bad for Lexi… but that didn’t change how traumatised both he and Betty were about this whole ordeal. “If Lexi was so scared of Betty… why would she risk being seen in our backyard? Why would she take those photos of us in our bedroom?” Those photos were the final catalyst for Jughead’s panic attacks, and they had cost Betty and Jughead a lot more than just a loss of privacy… 

Brittney frowned. “Honestly, I don’t know what photos you’re talking about. I didn’t really inspect them in too much detail.”

Jughead groaned and rubbed his eyes with his hands. “Great…”

He was about to turn back towards the door, feeling a little dejected, when Brittney perked up. “Maybe someone in the AV club would know?” She asked, more as a question than a real suggestion.

Jughead slowly removed his hands from his face. “Why would the AV club know anything about these photos?”

“Well, Lexi is _in_ the AV club, and aren’t videos something they all froth over?” Brittney postulated hopefully. “No offence to my bestie, but she’s a total slut for technology. I think the other people in that club are kinda creepy - like this one girl in _your_ grade. _Bad_ vibes from her.”

Jughead’s curiosity peaked. “What girl?” 

Brittney shrugged. “I don’t remember her name, sorry, but Lexi seems to think they’re on the same page with their dislike of Betty. Maybe you should find out if _she_ knows more about these mystery photos. But I can _assure_ you - Lexi would never have gone to your house.” Brittney rolled her eyes, and seemed to have regained her composure. “Honestly, why Lexi hangs out with those AV _weirdos,_ I’ll never understand…”

…… 

Jughead’s heart was racing as he marched determinedly back to FP’s bike. He was already pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, and he could barely contain the nervous energy as he tapped Betty’s number.

She answered almost immediately. “Hey Juggie.”

“Betty! I have _so_ much to tell you. You won’t believe what I found out about your Locker-Fiend…” Jughead relayed the information that Brittney had brought to light, glossing over the details about Lexi’s determined retaliation against the Black Hood’s daughter, and focusing on the AV club’s possible involvement. 

Betty listened attentively, but after Jughead had finished his, she could only say: “Lexi is in the AV club? Hmmm… that’s… not what I expected.”

Jughead wished he was with her in person so he could see her reaction. “What? Are you surprised a cheerleader wants to play around with AV technology? Surely they can’t _all_ be one dimensional stock characters.”

Betty laughed. “Well, no, it’s just… _Toni_ is in the AV club. If there was something weird happening with them, wouldn’t she know?”

Jughead frowned. “I didn’t know Toni was in the AV club.” 

“Well, I mean, she’s going to NYU to do filmmaking and photography. Is it really all that surprising?”

“No, I guess I’ve just never really thought about the AV club.”

“She also was the chief editor of that cute video that played at Prom.”

“I, ah… haven’t watched that yet.” He admitted, feeling a tad guilty. 

Betty giggled again. “You’re the one who told her to post it on the Blue and Gold’s website! You really had that much faith that she didn’t put anything embarrassing in it?”

Jughead felt his eyes widening. _“Is_ there something embarrassing in it?”

“Nothing to worry about.” Betty said unconvincingly. 

Jughead groaned. “Alright, I’m gonna call her now and find out if she knows of any ‘creepy’ people in the AV club.”

“I have my own suspicions about that Juggie… but see what Toni thinks first.” Betty said cryptically before saying her goodbyes to Jughead and hanging up.

With a growing nervous anticipation, Jughead scrolled through his contact list until he found Toni’s number.

She answered on the third ring. “Jughead, when I tell you to be grateful Betty’s only popping out _one_ baby, you better take that shit to heart.”

Jughead took a moment to process Toni’s words. “Yeah… I’m eternally grateful.” It was such a stark contrast to the topic on Jughead’s mind that it left him momentarily confused.

Toni snorted. “Yeah yeah, _believe me_ Jughead. Two toddlers are _too many_ toddlers. And they almost talk properly now, which is _great_ because they want to know everything and just talk talk _talk_ to you all day… I mean, they _are_ cute though.” Toni sighed, and Jughead heard rustling in the background. “Hold on, I’m putting you on speaker so I can finish sorting out my clothes - but only Nanna Rose is home right now and she’s lurking downstairs somewhere.”

Jughead was glad he’d caught Toni alone, but truthfully his curiosity had been piqued, and he was keen to talk about something _other_ than The Voyeur for a moment. “Sorting clothes - you packing for college too? Betty’s already started organising her stuff as well.”

“Well we _do_ have less than two months before we start.” Toni laughed. “The twins were ‘helping’ me earlier - but oh my _God_ they really just moved one mess and made another mess with it. Luckily Polly took them out with her; I was about to pull a Juniper and go hide in the attic.” 

Jughead let out a small laugh. “You’re not giving parenthood a good review there.” 

“Wouldn’t want to lie to you, dude.” 

Jughead shook his head, and leaned further into the bike. “So, I actually rang you for a reason.”

“I assumed as much.” There was another rustling noise and the sound of a zipper. “Fire away.” 

The anticipation reared its head again. “You’re in the AV club, right?” She confirmed she was and Jughead continued. “I found out that the person who put those photos on Betty’s locker is _also_ in the AV club.”

“Oh, no shit? Who is it?” Toni asked, her voice sounded surprised.

“Lexi. She’s a junior, and she’s also in the River Vixens.” 

“That bitch!” Toni sounded scandalised. “Oh my _God,_ she was always so quiet… I thought she was a good girl! If I ever see that pervy idiot again…” 

Jughead could tell Toni was getting angry with Lexi, and decided to intervene. “Look, as pissed off as I am with Lexi, I have bigger fish to fry right now Topaz. Like another member of the group who apparently hates Betty as much as Lexi does and might be the person who took photos of us in our bedroom.”

Toni didn’t answer right away, but after ten or so seconds she sighed. “Look, I can’t say I know anyone from the AV club who specifically hates Betty. I didn’t even know Lexi disliked her, let alone hated her enough to bully her like that.”

Jughead decided to leave the Black Hood explanation until another day. “Great…” He felt a little crestfallen. “That’s alright, Toni.”

Toni quickly continued. “But there really aren’t that many members… is there any other specific attribute this person has?” 

“They’re possibly a senior.” Jughead continued. “And a girl. Apparently she is creepy.”

“Creepy? I don’t think I’d call anyone in the AV club creepy… though a few of them are kind of anti-social.” Toni paused for a moment. “Um… there were only five seniors in the AV club this year: me, Weasel, Termite, Louis and Ethel… are you sure the person you’re looking for is a senior?”

Jughead suddenly felt cold. “Ethel is in the AV club?”

“Yeah… Why are you asking me like that?” Toni asked, nervousness in her voice. 

“Toni… I have to go.” Jughead moved his phone away from his face, and felt the heat draining out of his chest. He was left feeling cold inside, and felt his arm loosely drop to his waistline.

Before he could think, or act, or do anything other than try to process the feeling of disappointed despair, he heard the faint echo of Toni’s voice cry out from the phone’s speaker. _“Wait! Jug, don’t hang up yet!”_

Jughead lifted the phone back up to his ear, his hands shaking for an entirely different reason now. “Yes?” He choked out.

Toni was practically breathless. “Jug, if there’s something wrong with Ethel, or you’re worried she’s going to do something… you need to tell me right now.”

Jughead felt some of his courage come back. “Why? What’s so urgent?”

“Because Polly is at Ethel’s house right now with the twins!” Toni explained frantically. 

Jughead’s heart started to race. “What?! Why? What the hell is she doing there?” 

“They’re friends!” Toni’s voice betrayed her panic. “They met last year at Shady Grove!” 

_No. It can’t be… this is too much,_ Jughead was practically begging the universe to let him be wrong. “Ethel was at Shady Grove? How did I not know about this?!”

“Well it’s not like Polly was all that lucid when she was an inpatient!” The sound of Toni hurrying down the wooden staircase came through the phone speaker. “She only mentioned Ethel a few days ago; I didn’t realise they even knew each other but apparently Ethel reached out to her last week to see if she wanted to meet up. Cheryl convinced Polly to go… all of Polly’s other friends don’t want to see her anymore and she was feeling down about it. Oh God, Jughead… What if Ethel does something to Polly? _What if she does something to the twins?!”_

“Toni, slow down. Ethel, she… she isn’t violent.” Jughead stated - though whether to reassure Toni or himself, he wasn’t sure. “She wouldn’t do anything to hurt her…” but even as he said it, he thought about the fact that Ethel had once drank cyanide to prove her worthiness to the Gargoyle King, had still taken it as serious fact even after Betty proved he wasn’t real… had mysteriously disappeared after the whole ordeal… 

_She’s the one who told me about the bunker,_ his brain whispered to him. And only a week ago the FBI had confiscated a multitude of stalkerish photos of himself interacting with his family… some of the photos were apparently of him and Betty. From Jellybean’s description and Charles’ own warnings, both Betty and Jughead worked out that the stalker-type person seemed to be obsessed with Jughead. But if what Jellybean had said was true, and Betty’s face truly was scratched out in a lot of photos, it also meant that the person who’d created the photo wall in the bunker likely _hated_ Betty… and possibly wanted to get her out of the picture.

But without knowing for sure that it _was_ Ethel… he couldn’t exactly guarantee that it _wasn’t._

“We need to warn Polly that something could be wrong…” Jughead said, his brain struggling to comprehend what it was telling him.

“Fuck that!” Toni said. A door slammed somewhere in the background of the phone call. “Something _is_ wrong. And we need to get them the hell out of that house!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One (or two) mystery(ies?) down, but how many more to go?
> 
> Coming up: Will Polly and the twins be safe from Ethel?
> 
> Jughead gets a surprising new job offer.
> 
> Betty and Jughead finally get to the bottom of the sex tape that was left at the Serpent Den. 
> 
> Charles and Jughead team up to investigate the voyeur. And The Watcher’s next round of tapes is far too close to home for anyone’s comfort.


	17. Break-Ins and Butterflies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Polly’s first time seeing Ethel since they were in Shady Grove together doesn’t go as planned. 
> 
> Toni and Jughead hurry to figure out what is going on inside the Muggs’ house.
> 
> Betty confronts Ethel.
> 
> And Jughead and Betty have a sweet moment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright. It’s official. The Riverdale writers get their ideas from Reddit fan theories.   
> How else are we gonna explain the revelation of the Auteur/Voyeur’s identity :’)
> 
> Also, I’m not trying to use mental illness as a plot device for ‘evil’ characters. I find that trope overused and insensitive. So if it seems like that’s what I’m doing, I apologise - it’s really not my intention, and my actual intentions will make a lot more sense in the next two or so chapters. Please trust the process.
> 
> And THANKYOU to everyone who reads this story - it really does mean a lot to me, and I get so excited about comments and kudos. :D

Merely two weeks after moving into Thistlehouse, Polly Cooper realised that she had no friends.

_ I did this to myself,  _ she thought grimly, one lonely Summer night after putting the twins to sleep. 

She’d pushed everyone in her life away in order to focus on the Farm’s doctrines; she’d put her children in danger, and there wasn’t a soul from her old life who respected the choices she made to give her children what she  _ thought _ would be a better future.

Nobody from her high school social group ever visited her at Shady Grove. They were  _ allowed _ to visit; once, her mother had even tried to encourage a visit from the friends she’d had since elementary school - but they were too busy, or had jobs, or ‘couldn’t make it’, or had moved away after starting college and just didn’t think they could travel back all that way… 

It was all just excuses, Polly knew. Just ways for her old friends to politely remind themselves they’d dodged a bullet with the crazy teen mom. And Polly couldn’t blame them - she’d cut them out, after all, and her efforts to reach out to them during the few times she was allowed supervised cell phone time had all ended with half-hearted responses or silence. Valerie at least asked how she was doing, but Polly doubted the ex-Pussycat was interested in leaving her life in Los Angeles to rekindle their juvenile friendship.

Polly still had Betty, who seemed to have forgiven her for everything she’d put their family through. Oftentimes just having her sister to talk to was enough. Toni seemed to like her, and Cheryl was… Cheryl; despite her quirks, Polly enjoyed the company of her cousin/would-be sister-in-law. Reggie Mantle came close to ‘friend’ status - he certainly sent her the most internet memes out of anyone else in her life.

But real, actual friends… that was where Polly was lacking.

So when Ethel reached out to her, Polly couldn’t contain the feeling of excited anticipation as they messaged back and forth. Ethel had been in Shady Grove for all of three weeks before she and Polly struck up a camaraderie, being the only two people at the treatment facility that could understand what it was like to be from a town that could be likened to Hell on Earth.

Polly, selfishly, was even a little sad when Thanksgiving came and Ethel was declared to be recovered enough to go home. Ethel was the closest thing Polly had to a friend at the facility; it wasn’t long after that that Polly unknowingly attacked a poor unsuspecting nurse, and the other patients decidedly stayed away from her.

Polly had lived for the moments she would get to see her babies, but a deep rooted fear that she would do something to mess them up forever hung over her head with every visit. Still, she was happy any time her mother, sister and brother would visit her - sometimes with the twins, sometimes without.

After a friendless recovery and lonely existence in Shady Grove, Polly was determined to connect with other people. If her school friends didn’t want anything to do with her, then she’d need to try harder with the people who  _ did  _ want to see her… 

  
  


And so, she found herself, at the insistence of Cheryl and almost two months after returning to Riverdale, finally visiting a friend. Cheryl waved to Polly and the twins after she’d dropped them off at Ethel's house, and Polly - with practised efficiency - managed to distract Juniper enough that she didn’t try to run after Cheryl’s car.

She lifted Juniper up onto her hip and carefully grasped Dagwood’s hand as she walked with them up to the front door. She only knocked once before Ethel was opening the door, an enthusiastic smile on her face and a welcoming greeting to the twins sliding easily out of her mouth.

“Oh my  _ God,  _ Polly. They’re so cute! I can’t believe how big they are.” Ethel exclaimed as she led Polly through the house. 

Polly accepted Ethel’s offer of tea, and joined her in the living room. Casual small talk and politeness prevailed over genuine conversation, but Polly was just happy that she was somewhere other than Thistlehouse, Pop’s, or her childhood home. 

Ethel’s parents weren’t home, so Polly found herself able to relax. The twins looked around curiously, and toddled about the room to inspect their foreign environment. Polly kept a watchful eye on them, eventually pulling a few toys out of her backpack when they seemed to be getting bored with their mother’s polite conversation with Ethel. 

“So how was graduation for you?” Polly asked, her eyes leaving her children for a moment to give Ethel her full attention. “Sorry I didn’t come and say ‘hey’ - we had a bit of family drama happening that day… and truthfully the crowd was a bit much.”

Ethel shrugged and looked down at her teacup. “It was underwhelming, to say the least. It’s like: cool, we’re adults now, we’re  _ free.  _ But freedom isn’t real. It’s an illusion.”

Anyone else may have been put off by that comment, but after living at Shady Grove, very little surprised Polly.

“Wow, Ethel.” Polly couldn’t hold in a snort. “You sound just like Betty’s boyfriend. He’s always carrying on about society’s ‘traps’ and random government conspiracies too.” Polly giggled as she recalled one of her recent interactions with Jughead; a family dinner at Thistlehouse a few weeks earlier where he had vehemently argued with Toni about the pros and cons of capitalism (Polly still wasn’t sure how their UberEats delivery had generated such a topic), and accused her of allowing her love of a millionaire heiress to blind her from reality. The comment did  _ not  _ go over well with Toni, and Polly was genuinely surprised when Jughead left with his beanie intact. Of course, the two friends were fine the next day, so Polly assumed heated political discussions were common among them. 

“That’s Jughead for you.” Ethel smiled affectionately. “He always finds deeper meanings below the surface.” Her eyes glazed over for a moment as she looked past Polly to the back window of the living room, then she blinked and looked back at Polly’s face.

An uneasy feeling entered Polly’s body, but she shook it away. “Sorry, you probably know Jughead a lot better than I do.”

Ethel shrugged. “Yeah, we were pretty good friends in Freshman year. We used to hang out in the library a lot.” She let out a humourless laugh. “Loners have to stick together, you know?”

Polly couldn’t agree more, especially in her current social state. 

With a snarky curiosity, Ethel asked: “How’s Betty been doing? I heard she’s a stripper now.”

Polly involuntarily raised her eyebrows.  _ “Betty?!  _ A stripper? _ ”  _ She laughed out loud. “Where’d you hear that?”

Ethel sat up a little straighter. “You didn’t know she works at the Hoe Zone?” She asked cautiously, a glint of  _ something  _ in her eyes _ …  _ though Polly couldn’t exactly identify what the  _ something  _ was.

Polly shook her head. “No, I knew. But she’s a waitress, not a stripper.”

“A  _ waitress  _ at a  _ strip club _ ?” Ethel took another sip of her tea, then smirked. “That’s like saying she’s a  _ receptionist  _ at a  _ brothel.  _ I don’t get why she’d lie; I mean, compared to porn, stripping isn’t a big deal.”

Polly was still processing how funny it was that Ethel thought Betty Cooper would become a stripper. “Porn?” Polly’s brows furrowed. “I’m missing something.”

Ethel let out a laugh. “Don’t tell me you don’t know…” that same glint was back in Ethel’s eyes. 

Polly frowned. “I’m not really much of a ‘suspense’ kind of person, Ethel. What don’t I know?” Worry was starting to build, and an anxious heat squeezed her insides.

“Sorry, I just thought as her sister you would have known all about it.” Ethel looked over at the twins; the two seemed oblivious to the adult conversation happening, but she still shuffled closer to Polly on the couch and lowered her voice. “Betty does porn now.”

_ “What?!”  _ Polly practically squeaked. Her hands shook a little too much, and a few droplets of tea fell out of her cup and onto her shoes. She ignored it. “You’re joking, right? There’s no way Betty does porn. Not a chance.”

The glint in Ethel’s eyes increased - Polly wondered if it was akin to glee. “Yeah, her and Jughead made, like,  _ so many  _ sex tapes. It was the second biggest scandal of the year, next to Jughead faking his death, of course. I cried for two weeks straight when that happened, it was heartbreaking…”

Polly couldn’t focus on the rest of Ethel’s sentence, because her head was suddenly spinning.  _ Betty in porn? Jughead faking his death?  _ There was no way any of that was real…  _ Am I slipping into a delusion? _ Polly thought. Her insides went cold. She placed her teacup on the coffee table in front of her and gripped the armrest.  _ Feel the material, feel that it’s real…  _ she went over a mantra in her head she’d learned in one of her  _ many  _ therapy sessions from Shady Grove.  _ I am really here.  _ She told herself.  _ I am real, the seat beneath me is real…  _

Polly felt a tiny hand on her knee. “Mommy? Is you hurted?” Juniper’s worried little eyes stared up at her mother. Dagwood stood behind his sister, his thumb in his mouth and an equally confused look on his face.

Polly took a deep breath, and rubbed Juniper’s shoulder. She reached out to lift the little girl onto her lap.  _ Feel how warm Juniper is. She’s really here with me. This is really happening…  _

“Sorry, it must be a shock to hear all this.” Ethel said sympathetically. She gave Polly a pat on the shoulder, but Polly flinched away.

Polly tried to keep her breathing even. “Why… why would they be making porn? They’re both about to start Yale… something like that could ruin them.” 

“I mean, I thought that was obvious.” The glint was back in Ethel’s eyes, but she had such a sad expression on her face that Polly thought she might be imagining it. “I’m so sorry to say this, Polly… but your sister is kind of a bit…  _ slutty. _ ” She raised both her hands up, a frown on her face. “I’m not trying to be rude, it’s just the only word I know to describe her.”

“Betty’s  _ not _ ‘slutty’.” Polly retorted. Her words came out firmer, and she felt a little more at ease knowing this conversation must  _ actually  _ be happening - it wasn’t merely a figment of her imagination. “That’s a misogynistic word anyway, Ethel.”

Ethel nodded. “I know, I’m sorry. For real.” Ethel sighed and put down her teacup. “But, it’s the truth. They’re probably making a lot of money from the videos, too, because you have to pay a  _ lot  _ to see some of these videos. Well, the ones that aren’t in tape form, anyway - those ones are, like,  _ underground… _ you have to trade for them. You don’t get to just watch them online. Jason showed me one of the underground videos once, it was pretty intense.”

It was too much, too quickly. An information overload. Polly had a trillion and one questions, a million rebuttals, and several reasons to excuse herself and call Betty right now demanding answers. But before she could get to that point, one part of Ethel’s story had overtaken most of her senses…  _ “Jason  _ showed you an underground video… of, what,  _ Betty  _ having sex? With Jughead?” Polly shook her head quickly, and reached down to grip onto Dagwood’s free hand. “There’s no way a video like that exists. You must be mixing her up with someone who looks like Betty.” Although, why  _ Jason  _ would have shown  _ any _ kind of porn to  _ Ethel Muggs  _ was a mystery.

Ethel shook her head. “I wish I could say it wasn’t true, but me and Jason are really close… I know he would never lie to me.” Ethel shrugged and looked past Polly, back outside the window. “Besides, I saw it with my own two eyes.” 

Polly was too stressed to realise right away that Ethel had been referring to Jason in the present tense. “Prove it. I want to see this video Jason showed you.” 

Ethel’s gaze moved from the window back to Polly slowly. “I can’t show you that one, it’s on a tape and I don’t know who has it. But,” she reached over to the coffee table and picked up her Samsung phone. “I can show you the one that’s on the normal porn sites. The one you don’t have to pay to see. Give me a second though, it keeps getting deleted…”

While Ethel started to type on her phone, Polly gently placed Juniper back on the floor next to Dagwood and looked around for something that would distract her. She eyes her backpack for a moment, then said: “Juni, can you show Daggy how you stack your blocks?”

“Daggy  _ knows  _ blocks Mommy.” Juniper pouted, and crossed her little arms over her chest. 

“Okay, but can you stack your blocks  _ higher _ than Dagwood?” Polly said with fake enthusiasm.

Dagwood’s expression went from confused to scandalised. “No! I make it high to the  _ sky  _ Mommy.” 

Polly smiled weakly as the twins took the bait. “Okay, why don’t you both show me?” She handed Juniper the backpack, and the toddler hurried over to the corner of the living room, Dagwood hot on her heels. Despite having already taken several toys out of the backpack for the twins, the bag was still full of little cubed blocks and that Polly had only brought with her in case of an emergency.

This seemed like the kind of situation that called for thirty emergency toddler blocks.

Thankfully, Ethel had turned the volume all the way down on the video, and as Polly stared at the small phone screen, she realised with a deep rooted sense of horror that Ethel had been right. This  _ was  _ a video of Betty and Jughead having sex. 

“When is this even from?” Polly asked, feeling sick to her stomach. She looked back down at the video and saw Betty laying flat on her stomach on top of a bunk bed, her head and chest arched back slightly as Jughead pulled her hair, laid on top of her and devoured her neck. When their grinding movements started, Polly cringed. She locked the screen as she handed the phone back to Ethel in disgust.

“That’s Jughead’s dorm room at Stonewall. It was filmed either this year or last year, I guess, because that’s when he was there. I’ve heard there’s heaps of videos from that school.” Ethel said casually. 

“What about the one Jason showed you?” Polly swallowed, feeling a twinge of pain at the thought that Jason might have seen a video of Betty having sex and not told her about it. “Betty must have been young…”

_ Too young,  _ Polly realised with a jolt. She stared down at the phone still in Ethel’s hand in confusion.  _ Something doesn’t add up here,  _ Polly thought.

As hard as it was, Polly pushed through the confusion that was circulating her mind and tried to remain calm. Even though she and Betty hadn’t had many meaningful conversations when the Farm had first moved to Riverdale, Polly knew several facts about her sister that she’d learned after returning for their father’s murder trial. 

The key factoid was this: Polly knew that Betty was leaving the house to go to a hotel with Jughead and  _ without  _ their mother’s knowledge. And so she’d asked Betty a few personal questions, after which Betty had confessed that she’d had sex for the first time with Jughead, and had done it several more times since. Polly had been thrilled for Betty, and for a moment it felt like they were just talking like sisters again - both of their lives not being torn in different directions; just enjoying each other’s company, with Polly relaying the sisterly advice she knew Betty may need when it came to sex. 

The next fact that Polly knew with absolute certainty was that Jason  _ couldn’t _ have seen a video of Betty having sex…

…because he was already  _ dead _ when Betty first had sex.

But Ethel continued to relay information as though it was fact, and Polly was startled to consider that maybe Ethel thought it  _ was  _ fact. “She wasn’t  _ that  _ young.” Ethel scoffed. “It was only a year and a half,  _ maybe _ two years ago ago…”

_ Could Betty have lied to me about the details?  _ Polly thought. She shook her head. There was  _ no  _ way that was true.  _ I am really hearing this. Ethel just has the information wrong.  _ She told herself.  _ I’m not delusional,  _ Ethel _ is… _

Polly sat up straighter and looked at Ethel properly. Her eyes were still occasionally darting to the window behind Polly, and the weird glint was in Ethel’s expression still. Polly noted that Ethel’s eyes were slightly bloodshot, and if she looked closely, she could see a puffy redness under her eyes. It wasn’t exactly bags or black circles, but Ethel  _ did  _ look tired. But it was hard to be certain if Ethel actually  _ was  _ tired while she seemed so wired.

“...Jughead was  _ so  _ hot in that video. He had on his leather jacket.” Ethel continued, her eyes glazing over for a moment, before she rolled them and looked back at Polly. “Betty had on her cheerleading uniform, which was  _ way too small,  _ might I add. And then they just fucked on top of her car. Right there in the forest.” 

“Ethel.” Polly said, swallowing to regain composure as she processed all of the startling details. “If that video exists, Jason didn’t show it to you. Betty wasn’t a cheerleader when Jason died.”

“Huh? Yes he was.” A deep seated frown appeared on Ethel’s face. “I’m sorry Polly, I know I should have told you this sooner…” She looked into Polly’s eyes, and the determined expression was intimidating. “But me and Jason… we’ve been seeing each other. I thought he may have forgotten about me while I was away at Shady Grove, but he called me after I came back home and we hit it off like we did in Junior year.” She reached out to pat Polly’s leg, and Polly was too frozen to move away. “If you ever want to bring the twins to meet him, you guys could come with me the next time I visit him.” She sighed and looked out the window again. “Your children are so beautiful Polly, having Jason’s babies must be a dream come true… if only I could be so lucky.”

Polly felt cold and hot at the same time, and wanted nothing more than to scoop her children up and run from the house. It had been a mistake to come here, she realised that now. Several explicit words were on the tip of her tongue, and she was on the cusp of shouting them at Ethel, when she noted the way the other girl’s hands were shaking. Not shaking like she was cold, or scared - but there were tremors, and Ethel still had that odd glint in her eyes that Polly couldn’t understand.

Unless, maybe… she  _ could. _

“Hey, Ethel…” Polly said, then took a deep breath. “Have you been taking your medication?” Her heart beat fast in her chest as she waited for the answer.

For a second, Polly wasn’t sure which answer would be better. If Ethel  _ was  _ taking her meds and she was still having delusions, then something was wrong. But if she  _ wasn’t  _ taking her medication…

Well, that was equally problematic.

Ethel frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m eighteen now. My parents can’t force me to be medicated anymore.”

Nausea rolled in Polly’s stomach and spread throughout her body. “Ethel… you can’t just stop taking those kinds of meds. At the very least you need to ween off them… but only a doctor should be telling you what to do with your medications.”

Ethel snorted. “That’s  _ not  _ what you used to say, Polly. I still remember what you were like in Shady Grove.”

Polly remembered too. “I was  _ sick  _ Ethel. We both were.”

_ “You  _ might still be sick.” Ethel picked up her teacup again. “But I’m fine now. Jason even told me I seemed so much better now that I’m off all that pharmaceutical crap. And he—”

Polly cut her off. “If you’re talking to Jason, Ethel, then you definitely aren’t fine.”  _ I don’t have to listen to this,  _ Polly thought, a mix of fury and concern starting to reign inside her. Polly began to discreetly pull her phone out of her pocket and text Cheryl to come back  _ right the hell now _ , but the twins distracted her midway.

“Mommy! Juni cheating!” Dagwood protested loudly. Polly looked over and watched as Juniper stole one of Dagwood’s blocks and placed it on top of her own tower. It nearly reached the top of her head. 

Anger flashed on Ethel’s face for a moment, but she took a sip of her tea and stared as Polly quickly put her phone on the coffee table and hurried over to grab Dagwood,  _ before _ he pushed Juniper’s tower over in revenge. 

“Behave, Daggy. Juni, give him his block back or we’ll be going home right now.” Polly bluffed out of habit; though going home immediately wasn’t a bad idea… 

“You can’t leave.” Ethel said, her eyes flashing wildly as she stood up. “Please don’t leave me.” Her hands were still tremoring, and her eyes darted between Polly and the window.

A flicker of fear sparked in Polly’s heart. She may not have been the most mentally stable person in Riverdale, but she could recognise an unhinged person just as good as anyone else. It was a strange feeling, to be so scared of someone who hadn’t done anything to hurt her. But still, Polly was cautious as she noted the positioning of Ethel’s hand, twitching next to her pocket.

“I won’t.” Polly forced out. Her voice shook too much, so she coughed to clear her throat. “Um, any chance we could use your restroom? Dagwood needs to go potty soon… if I don’t take him now he’ll have an accident.”

Dagwood dropped his block in horror. “No ack-shee-dent Mommy!”

She lifted him up into her arms, her grip possibly just a little too tight. 

“Yeah, you can use the one in my bedroom. It’s the third room down the hall.” Ethel pointed to her right, but kept her eyes on Polly and the twins. “I can watch Juniper for you while you’re in there.”

“No.” Polly said with a little too much force. She swallowed and said the next part much gentler. “No, it’s fine. She’ll need to go too.”

“Don’t _ need _ to go potty Mommy!” Juniper said loudly. Her little eyes stared up accusingly at Polly, but Polly gripped her hand and started to drag her towards the opposite side of the living room. 

Polly tried not to get flustered, but she could feel her face heating up as she laughed nervously and passed Ethel. “She always says that, but the second Dagwood finishes she’ll be asking me to go too.”

Ethel merely raised her eyebrows and watched as Polly took the twins down the hallway.

Polly gripped both of her children tightly, far too uncomfortable with the weirdness in the house to let them go. She hustled Juniper through Ethel’s bedroom door, her mind squarely focused on taking her children into the en suite bathroom with her and quickly locking the door. 

Her heart was beating hard as she placed Dagwood on the floor then leaned back against the now-locked door. The twins curiously stared up at her as her knees became weak and she slowly slid down the door and onto the floor, her breath leaving her in a slow exhale.

“Don’t have to go potty, Mommy.” Dagwood said seriously. Juniper shook her head and crossed her arms in solidarity.

“I know, honey.” Polly drew her knees up to her chest and breathed slowly. “Mommy needs a second.” Her mind was spinning into the infinitely dark possibilities. Staying calm needed to be her primary target, but it wasn’t going to be easy with two small children depending on her. She took a deep breath and leaned her forehead onto her knees.

She stayed like that for a few moments, until Dagwood patted her leg with his little hand. “Mommy, is you sick?” He asked sweetly, his head tilted to the side.

Polly swallowed, then lifted her head slowly. “Yes.  _ Yes,  _ I’m feeling a bit sick… I’ll call Aunty Cheryl to pick us up.” The twins both cheered in excitement, and Polly shifted to get her phone out of her pocket… 

…but remembered, with an awful jolt to her heart, that she’d placed it on the coffee table in the living room. 

  
  


…….

  
  


The second Jughead pulled his dad’s bike up next to Toni’s blue one, he killed the engine. She was waiting for him a few houses down from Ethel’s and was surrounded by an aura of anguish.

“Polly’s not answering.” Toni said, not waiting for him to get off the bike before she moved closer to him. Her voice was full of nervous energy as she put her phone up to her ear. After a few more seconds, she groaned in frustration. “What if Ethel took her phone?”

“Ethel’s not dangerous, Toni.” Jughead replied as he removed his helmet and stepped off his bike, though there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice. “Try texting her.” Jughead suggested, not taking his eyes off the house.

Toni bit her lip as she typed away at her phone. Almost immediately a message pinged. “She said:  _ ‘We’re staying at Ethel’s tonight. See you in the morning’  _ \- nope. Jughead, something’s wrong. Polly barely leaves the house, there’s no way she’s not coming home tonight.” Toni stiffened and started to pace.

Jughead wanted so much for Ethel  _ not  _ to be an antagonist in this convoluted narrative, but he couldn’t bring himself to argue with Toni. “Okay. I’m taking this seriously.” He pulled his beanie out of his pocket and shoved it down onto his head. “Did Cheryl respond to you?” He asked quickly, his mind swirling with a nerve-wracking idea.

Toni shook her head. “No, she must be with a client. _Damnit.”_ Toni looked at her bike, then Jughead’s, then back to his face. “How are we going to get the twins home if something _is_ wrong?!” Her voice raised slightly, but she was doing a remarkable job of remaining calm.

“Call Betty.” Jughead said as he took a step towards Ethel’s house. “She’ll bring her station wagon. There’s no baby seats in it, but it’s our best option since we can’t put the twins on our motorcycles.” 

“Hell no, I’m coming in with you.” Toni started to follow him, half jogging as she scrolled through her contacts. She held her phone up to her ear and waited for Betty to pick up. “I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to those kids. Besides, don’t you want backup?” 

“Yes.” Jughead said firmly, pausing just before Ethel’s driveway. “I definitely do. But I want a getaway car  _ more _ than I want backup, and out of the two of us, I stand a better chance of reasoning with Ethel if things go haywire.” He’d had to do it several times over the years, after all. “Also… we don’t know what we’re even walking into. If everything is fine, I don’t want to freak them out with both of us storming in there. 

Toni nodded reluctantly. “Alright… but if you’re not out in two minutes, I’m calling you. And if you don’t answer I’m coming in.” Toni huffed in frustration as she put her unanswered phone back infront of her and redialled Betty. “I know Ethel well enough from the AV club to feel no qualms about busting through her fancy doorway.”

  
  


As Jughead started to walk down the driveway, nerves built up in his chest. It was the complete lack of knowing what was going on inside the house that freaked him out the most. Would everything be fine? Would Polly be fine? Was Ethel the villain Toni seemed to think she might be? Sure, it seemed more than likely that Ethel had used his sex tapes in some creepy and unlawful ways, but that didn’t mean she’d do something to Polly and the twins… 

_ “Betty’s face is scratched out of some of the photos…”  _ Jellybean’s horrified words echoed in his mind.

He quickened his pace.

Jughead felt like he was waiting longer than the minute it took for Ethel to answer the front door. She opened it slowly, surprised anticipation on her face as she stared at Jughead.

“Hey.” She said sweetly, and reached up to brush her hair off her face. “Jughead. What are you doing here?”

Jughead cleared his throat. “Just wanted to come say hello. Been a while since we hung out.” Ethel’s eyes lit up, and with a slight amount of guilt Jughead managed to keep his expression neutral. “And, I had to tell Polly some urgent info, but she’s not answering her phone. She’s still here right?”

Ethel’s bright expression dimmed a little as she awkwardly adjusted the red bow in her hair. “Oh, she’s not here.” Ethel crossed her hands over her chest and looked down nervously. “You just missed her, actually.”

The nerves and guilt evaporated in Jughead, quickly replaced by frustration. “Ethel, we both know that’s not true.” Jughead balled his hands into fists by his side, but managed to keep the growing anger out of his voice.

Ethel shook her head furiously. “Sorry Jughead, as much as I’d love to talk… I can’t help you.”

Ethel started to close the front door, but Jughead shoved his boot just inside the threshold to halt the closure. “Wait, okay, so she’s not here… but can I still come in?”

Regret took hold of Ethel’s features. “Now’s really not a good time…” 

Jughead’s phone started to ring, and Ethel paused in confusion. It was then that Jughead noticed something was off about her; aside from her lying about Polly, there was something in her eyes - a blank, unfocused expression that would haunt Jughead for weeks to come.

“Ethel… are you okay?” He asked cautiously. The phone continued to ring loudly in his pocket, but Jughead ignored it. 

Ethel audibly swallowed. “Better than ever.” She opened the door slightly, and Jughead used the opportunity to slide in through the entrance. “Hey, I didn’t say you could come in.”

“My bad, I just figured we may as well get out of the doorway.” Jughead said casually. His eyes scanned the open space, hoping to catch a glimpse of Polly or a Blossom child. The lighting in the house was rather dim; the sun was setting and the open windows were doing nothing to keep away the darkness.

Ethel followed Jughead into the kitchen at the end of the hallway, and after he’d glimpsed into the empty living room, he almost missed the sight of something that was very much out of place. Namely, a small pink backpack settled in the corner of the room, a pile of blocks either side of it.

“So where did she go?” Jughead asked, trying to keep the stress out of his voice. 

Ethel tore her eyes away from the living room window. “Who?”

“Polly.” Jughead pinched the bridge of his nose. “Where’s Polly, Ethel?”

Ethel shrugged. “How am I meant to know? Isn’t she  _ your  _ girlfriend’s sister? You should know better than I do.”

The sound of a door rattling in it’s hinges made both Ethel and Jughead jump in surprise.

“Alright!” Toni said, anger rampant in her tone. She stormed down the hallway and into the kitchen. “Where the  _ fuck _ is Polly. Tell me right now, bitch, or I swear to God I will bury you alive.” Toni’s eyes flared dangerously. 

Ethel flinched, but she still shook her head. “I’m alone in the house. Polly’s gone.”

“Oh yeah?!” Toni marched into the corner of the adjacent living room and lifted up the empty backpack. “She just left all these toddler toys here for you, did she?” Toni roughly dropped the bag back onto the ground. 

Jughead used Ethel’s distraction to slip back down the hallway. He took note of the closed doors, and moved closer to the first one.

Ethel’s voice went blank. “Stop trying to scare me into talking. It won’t work.”

“Polly!” Toni practically shouted. She moved back into the kitchen and looked down the hallway. “Juniper! Dagwood!”

There was silence in the house. 

Ethel raised her eyebrows, a triumphant grin on her face. “You’re wasting your time, guys. Like I said, Polly isn’t here.”

Toni crossed her arms over her chest and bit her lip, giving Jughead a worried look. Jughead let out a long sigh, and rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hand. “Ethel, listen to me…”

But then, Jughead heard it. A muffled kind of voice - sounding really far away, as though the other person was trying to scream at the sky from the bottom of the ocean.  _ “In here! In here!”  _ It seemed to be saying.

Jughead spun around and stared accusingly at Ethel. “Where are they?” He demanded.

Ethel responded with a stoney expression. 

“Damnit, Ethel, which room are they in?” Toni said forcefully and moved to stand right in front of Ethel. She towered over Ethel despite her shorter stature, and Ethel had the good sense to take a step back. 

Jughead placed his right ear up to the first door. “Polly!” He called loudly.

_ “Jughead! We’re here!”  _ The voice penetrated Jughead’s left ear so he tried the next door, and then the next. On the third door, the voice sounded louder and pierced the ear that was up against the door. As he tried to open it, however, he realised it was locked. 

“Open this damn door Ethel.” Jughead practically growled. He looked to his left and saw that Ethel wasn’t moving anytime soon. Jughead still hadn’t gotten the knack of picking locks (despite Betty’s attempts to teach both him and Jellybean several times) so he steeled himself and kicked the door with all his strength. After a second kick, it burst open, snapping the lock and forcing pieces of wood to fly off the door frame.

Jughead only took a second to assess the bedroom before the sound of a lock rang in his ears from the opposite side of the room. The door to the bathroom suddenly opened, and Polly emerged carrying Juniper in one arm and holding Dagwood’s hand in the other. Polly’s eyes were wide and darted around the room, and she seemed to be trembling, but her head was up high and her back was straight as she walked towards Jughead. 

“You found us!” Polly exclaimed with forced enthusiasm, though her voice shook with fear. “Oh no, guess that means no more hide and seek, guys, sorry.” She bounced Juniper on her hip, and Dagwood sighed loudly.

In complete contrast to their mother, the twins looked unconcerned with their current situation. “Daz okay Mommy.” Juniper piped up. “Hide and seek was  _ boring. _ Let’s play tea parties!” She clapped her little hands together and smiled up at Polly.

“Are you guys hurt?” Jughead asked quietly. When Polly shook her head he breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Juggie take us home now?” Dagwood asked, looking up at his mother curiously. Polly bit her lip and looked at Jughead pleadingly.

“Yes.” Jughead said quickly, taking another step towards the trio. “Come on, guys. We’re going back home now. Okay?” 

Dagwood eyed the beanie-clad man suspiciously, but quickly let go of Polly’s hand and toddled towards Jughead with his arms outstretched. Jughead was momentarily filled with surprise at Dagwood’s sudden decision to  _ want  _ Jughead’s presence, but crouched down to pick the eager toddler up. 

“Juggie… I don’t like it here.” He whispered into Jughead’s ear as Jughead held him close.

“Me neither, Daggy. Me neither.”

……. 

_ After everyone had left the Muggs house (and Toni had successfully threatened Ethel enough to give Polly’s phone back), the only difficulty left was getting Polly in the car. _

“We can’t leave her alone like this.” Polly was still shaking; with the twins happily placed in the back seat of Betty’s station wagon, Polly had broken down crying into her sister’s shoulder, only taking a breath to prevent the party of six from leaving the creepy house behind them.

Betty rubbed Polly’s back. “Polly, there’s no way I’m letting you go back inside that house.” 

Polly sniffled and pulled away from Betty to wipe the tears off her cheeks. “You don’t get it, there’s something wrong with her.”

“Nobody is arguing with you.” Toni said incredulously. “Bitch is batshit insane.”

“She’s not insane. She’s off her meds.” Polly said seriously. “She was saying all kinds of bizarre things… I dunno, maybe some of it was true, I’m too flustered to sort through it all… but I really don’t think we should be leaving her alone while she’s like this. I don’t think she’s thinking clearly… I’m scared she’s going to hurt herself.”

“Well  _ I’m  _ scared she’s going to hurt you.” Said Toni firmly. “I agree with Betty, no way you’re going back inside.”

“We  _ should  _ be calling the police.” Betty said seriously, a dark expression taking over her features. “She can’t keep you locked up in there and act like that’s okay. Anything could have happened to you guys.”

“No, no…  _ I  _ locked us in the bathroom.” Polly protested. “I got scared… I didn’t think she was going to hurt us but she wouldn’t give me my phone and I was freaking out too much to come out and grab it off her.”

Jughead didn’t want to stress Polly out more by pointing out that Ethel had also locked the bedroom door. “Fine,  _ I’ll  _ go inside. You guys can head home.”

Polly shook her head. “I don’t want you to be in there alone with her either...”

Betty placed a hand on Polly’s shoulder. “He won’t be, I’ll be with him. And we’re not staying, we’ll call her mom and tell her what happened then she can come be with Ethel.”

Polly relaxed slightly and leaned against the car. “Okay… we’ll wait here for you.” Toni moved closer to Polly and joined her against the car. 

……. 

  
  


Jughead and Betty entered the house again and found Ethel in the kitchen, leaning against the table top dejectedly. Jughead asked Ethel for her mom’s phone number, and after a tense minute she finally caved and Jughead excused himself to call Mrs Muggs.

Despite Polly’s insistence that Betty ‘be gentle’ with Ethel, Betty made no attempt to hide her anger from the girl. “Polly has been getting better.” Betty shot an unforgiving glare at Ethel and stared her down. “If my sister has a major setback after this, I’m holding you personally responsible.”

Ethel looked nervously upset. “It’s not my fault Polly can’t handle the fact that her sister is a psycho manipulative slut who leads good men astray!”

Betty let out a humourless, exasperated laugh. “I’m sorry, which one of us is the psycho? Because last time I checked,  _ you’re  _ the one hoarding photos of Jughead in Dilton Doiley’s bunker.”

Ethel opened and closed her mouth. “That-that’s not... how do you even...?” She stammered unconvincingly, her eyes darting between Betty and a window in the living room.

“Save it.” Betty said, venom spewing from her words. “You’ve been spying on Jughead for months. You took photos of us in our bedroom… what were you thinking? That we wouldn’t find out it was you?”

“It  _ wasn’t  _ me.”

“The evidence is all there, Ethel. Your bunker secrets aren’t staying in the dark. And we  _ know  _ you gave those photos to Lexi to put on my locker, so there’s no point in pretending anymore, Ethel. You’ve been caught out.”

Tears welled up in Ethel’s eyes. “I didn’t take those photos.”

“Oh,  _ please.  _ I know how obsessed you are with  _ my  _ boyfriend.” Betty took a step towards Ethel. “You have no idea what those photos did to Jughead. You’ve emotionally scarred him, possibly for life, all because you can’t get over your little fantasy schoolgirl crush.”

A tragic expression planted itself on Ethel’s face. “I never wanted to hurt him…”

“Well great job of that, Ethel.” Betty exclaimed. “You know, stalking isn’t a victimless crime. And honestly, I can think of several other criminal offenses you committed by entering our property  _ illegally  _ and taking lewd photos of us without our permission. Trespassing, for one—”

“I haven’t ever trespassed.” Ethel said defiantly. 

Betty let out a long, exhausted exhale. “Are you really still going to play this game? Ethel, for you to have taken those photos you would have needed to climb up a ladder and manoeuvre your camera into a very specific position to get the right angle to see into our bedroom. You  _ had  _ to do it from our property, is what I’m getting at. That’s trespassing, since you didn’t have our permission to be there.”

Ethel shook her head again. “Okay. I’ve been… photographing Jughead. There, I admitted it, are you happy now?”

“Ecstatic.” Betty deadpanned.

Ethel looked past Betty, her eyes lifeless and unseeing. “But it’s all coincidental… like when I see him in the hallways at school, or if he walks past my house, or the park… or at the shops. I’ve never gone out of my way to find him and photograph him.” She made eye contact with Betty, and a determined aura settled over her. “I’m not a stalker.”

Jughead returned from his phone call. “Hey, um… your mom’s almost here…” Jughead frowned and looked down at his shoes. He shuffled awkwardly from side to side. “What are you guys talking about?”

Betty crossed her arms over her chest. “Ethel was just explaining the finer details of how she’s  _ stalking _ you.” 

Jughead stiffened uncomfortably and his gaze fell on Ethel.  _ Disappointed _ but _not_ surprised  would be the best description of the forlorn look on his face. Ethel on the other hand, glared deeply at Betty and slammed her hands on the kitchen counter.

“I’m not a stalker, you nymphomaniac wench!” Ethel practically growled, and took a step towards Betty. 

Betty was so full of rage - both justified and hormonal - that she wanted nothing more than to rip the stupid bow out of Ethel’s  _ stupid  _ head and drag her outside by the hair. She squared her shoulders and stalked towards Ethel.

Jughead was between them in an instant. “Hey-hey-hey-hey-hey.” He said quickly, his voice full of stress. He gave Betty a pleading look. “I know you’re upset… but this isn’t helping.”

Betty turned her fiery eyes on him. “Jughead, she took photos of us in our  _ bedroom.  _ She violated our privacy, our safety, our intimacy - and she’s clearly been following you around for months, if not  _ years -  _ how do we know that video of us at Lover’s Lane wasn’t her doing as well?” Betty tried to get past Jughead and do  _ anything  _ to Ethel, but he forcefully grabbed her around both of her arms and held her in place. Betty huffed in frustration. 

“I keep telling you, that  _ wasn’t me!”  _ Ethel said, her voice whiny and pleading. 

Jughead’s expression hardened, and when he was sure Betty wasn’t going to try and jump the other girl, he released his hold and turned to wrap an arm around Betty (a little firmer than necessary, just in case). “Ethel, I wish I could believe you, but from what I’ve heard about what the cops found in the bunker, I really,  _ really  _ can’t.”

Ethel paled at the mention of law enforcement, but she remained strong. “The thing you’re talking about, from your bedroom?” Jughead and Betty both felt a rush of anticipation. “It wasn’t photos… it was a sex tape.”

Both Betty and Jughead remained motionless, their breathing as laboured as each other’s, while they processed Ethel’s words. 

Jughead was the first to recover. “You… you made a sex tape of us?”  _ Another one,  _ another _ tape of us having sex. I thought photos were bad, but this…  _ Jughead couldn’t recall the last time he felt this nauseated. 

Betty wasn’t nauseated for once; she was furious. “You’re a sick pervert. Do you know how disgusting that is?”

Ethel shook her head quickly. “No. No, you don’t understand. I had photos of you guys having sex in your bedroom, and yeah, I put them up in my safe space… But,” she paused for a long moment, then took a deep breath before continuing, “I didn’t record it. I just… took screenshots of it. Because I liked,” she closed her eyes for a moment, and when she reopened them her expression was completely blank, “I liked that Betty’s face was mostly covered.” Her voice rose an octave. “But I swear to God, I swear on  _ everything  _ that I didn’t make that sex tape.” 

Jughead swallowed. “Then who did? Who did you get the video from?” Jughead tried to quickly recall the name of the River Vixen guilty of taping the  _ same  _ photos to Betty’s locker. “Was it your cheerleader friend from the AV club?  _ Lexi?” _

Ethel shook her head. “No, it was—”

The sound of the front door slamming open cut Ethel off. “Ethie! Baby, what’s going on?” Mrs Muggs hurried down the hallway and into the kitchen. Her eyes scanned Betty and Jughead, then she quickly moved to Ethel’s side. She put her palm up to Ethel’s forehead. “Are you sick? You’re all flushed.”

“No, Mrs Muggs.” Betty said, sounding a lot more confident than she looked. “She’s just embarrassed that we called her out for spying on Jughead.”

Mrs Muggs’ eyebrows raised, and her eyes widened. “Ethel… what?”

Jughead didn’t let Ethel respond. “There’s been a few videos released of me and Betty in compromising positions.” His voice was awkward and barely above a whisper. “And Ethel was in possession of some of the sensitive material… which she got from…?” Jughead lifted his hand as if to indicate that Ethel should continue.

Ethel opened her mouth to speak, but her mother cut her off. “Don’t say anything, Ethie.” Her expression hardened and she took a step towards Betty and Jughead, keeping her gaze on the blonde. “I’ve heard about your dirty movies, and I’m honestly not surprised. I’d expect nothing less from the daughter of Alice Smith.” She rolled her eyes and scoffed. “You’re not dragging my daughter into whatever disturbing web of lies you two are spinning. You get the hell out of my house and stay away from my kid.”

“But, no, Mrs Muggs,  _ please,  _ we just need to know the name—”

“I’m sorry, did I not make myself clear?” Ethel flinched and looked at the couple with an  _ almost  _ apologetic expression. “I said get out. If you want to talk to Ethel there’d better be a lawyer present, because if you try and contact her again I’ll sue you both for emotional damages.” 

Betty gave her an incredulous look. “That won’t hold up in court—”

“I said  _ get out!”  _ She practically screamed, and pointed down the hallway to the front door.

A forlorn expression on his face, Jughead slowly linked his hand through Betty’s and began to lead her back down the hall. As Betty took a step, she tensed up and twisted in  _ just  _ the wrong way that a sharp shock of pain went through her lower ribs. “Agh.” She gasped, gripped Jughead’s hand tighter and reflexively placed her other hand on her abdomen. 

“Betts, what’s wrong, are you okay?” Jughead was in such a stressed state of mind, both due to the incident with Polly and Ethel  _ and  _ the fact that they were  _ seconds  _ away from knowing who their Voyeur was to only have it ripped away from them (if only Mrs Muggs hadn’t walked in right at that  _ moment),  _ that he spoke without thinking: “Is it the baby?”

Betty shook her head and said: “No, my ribs again,” then stiffened as she realised what Jughead had asked her. They shared a panicked look for merely a second before the other two people in the house caught up to their conversation.

It was Ethel, who’s voice, full of heartbroken emotion, cut through the tense moment of silence. “You’re pregnant?!”

  
  


……

_ Deep rooted, bone chilling exhaustion wasn’t necessarily a  _ new  _ emotion to me, but every time the feeling overtook I became more and more convinced that some people just weren’t meant to lead stress-free, happy and fulfilled lives.  _

_ Betty seemed to share my sentiment as we finally found our way back home. We parked our vehicles on the road in front of our house, and her tired, forlorn look of defeat remained as she reached out to hug me before we went inside. Neither of us spoke as we clutched each other’s hands and made our way up to the front door.  _

_ FP greeted us at the door, Jellybean standing wide-eyed behind him as he asked us how we were. When I just shook my head, and Betty merely leaned her head against my shoulder, he nodded sympathetically and took Jellybean back into the living room to watch late night television. _

_ We didn’t have to worry about running into the well-meaning but often overbearing Alice Smith, because she was staying at Thistlehouse tending to a still-distressed Polly. The twins, at least, seemed not to have understood the gravity of their situation, thanks in no doubt to their mother’s ability to remain calm until they were safe. _

_ Neither Betty nor I managed to do anything other than ungracefully falling onto our bed by each other’s side. But despite our mutual exhaustion, neither of us could sleep…  _

  
  


“Ethel was the bunker stalker. Confirmed.” Betty said quietly.

“Yes.” Jughead agreed emotionlessly. “And Lexi put those photos on your locker. Confirmed.”

“Essentially.” Betty agreed. “And they likely both got those photos from the same person... who actually made a sex tape of us in here.” She shivered.

Jughead nodded. “Yeah... they’re probably in the AV Club. Maybe we can try and investigate them further. I think Toni would be up for helping me out tomorrow.”

“That’s a good idea Jug.” Betty agreed. She sighed, and went quiet. 

They both remained silent for a long time, staring up at the white ceiling of the room. Betty felt numb, and wondered how long, exactly, she was meant to keep going in Riverdale when everything around her was crumbling.

“So…” Jughead said tiredly, shifting slightly so he could look down at her. “I think Dagwood likes me now.” 

A small smile ghosted Betty’s face. “It was bound to happen eventually.”

Jughead felt her fingers brushing against his hand, so opened his fist to let her hold onto him. The cool metal of his ring on her finger left a sensitive spot on his palm. He cleared his throat. “Maybe… maybe Ethel won’t tell anyone.”

Betty knew he was talking about their impromptu pregnancy reveal. “Maybe…” Betty said, but she highly doubted Ethel would keep that information to herself. She closed her eyes and sighed. “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, Jug.”

Jughead’s lips twitched in spite of himself. “William Congreve. Fitting.” 

Betty shuffled closer. “I thought Shakespeare wrote that.”

“Most people do, but believe it or not there are  _ other  _ English playwrights who were active in the sixteen hundreds.” 

Betty laughed slightly, then looked up at him. “I miss this…” she reached up and trailed her fingers down his face. His eyes fluttered closed for a moment. “Just talking to you about random stuff we’re interested in. Really, just talking about anything that doesn’t revolve around sex tapes.”

Jughead slowly opened his eyes. “So do I.” He turned over to face her, and placed a hand on her hip. “I want us to have that normalcy…” he paused and thought for a moment. “I just want to be with you… without all the violating craziness.” 

“You will be.” She turned her head fully towards him, and their faces were inches apart. “We can start over in New Haven, Juggie. Nobody will know who we are… we can be whoever we want to be.” 

Jughead leaned in to kiss her chastely on the lips, and she smiled as she pulled away. Her warm breath still lingered on his face. 

A quizzical expression suddenly came over her, and Jughead raised his eyebrows. “What is it?” He asked curiously.

Betty’s hands travelled down to her abdomen. She lifted her shirt up and revealed her smooth skin. There really wasn’t much of a bump, but just knowing that the small bulge in her abdomen wasn’t from food, but an actual  _ person  _ growing inside her made Betty very conscious of her belly. And so, when a weird fluttering rumble in her lower abdomen made its presence known, Betty stared down at her stomach. “Jug… I think I can feel it moving.”

Jughead was startled for a moment, then an entirely new feeling welled up in his chest. “You mean… the baby?” His voice barely rose above a whisper.

Betty’s eyebrows raised as the feeling got stronger. “Yeah… I think that’s what it is.” She waited for a few moments to see if it would go away, but it persisted. 

“What does it feel like?” Jughead asked, awe shining through his words.

Betty pursed her lips. “Weird… it’s like butterflies. I think I felt it a few days ago too, but I thought I was just hungry.” 

“Butterflies…” Jughead repeated, his expression changing to one of complete wonder. He stared down at Betty’s mostly flat stomach - the slight bump stood out more than it ever had.

She pulled his hand on top of her tiny bump. “Can you feel it?” She asked in a fascinated whisper.

Jughead concentrated hard, but all he could feel was Betty’s warm skin. “I don’t think so.” He said, trying not to sound too disappointed. 

Betty smiled down at their hands on her stomach. “You know… all this planning and prep for college and trying to fit an infant into our lives, I’ve never really given myself the chance to think about the fact that we’re having a  _ baby.”  _

Jughead let slip a small laugh. “You sound so shocked. What did you think it was in there?”

Betty rolled her eyes, but didn’t take her gaze away from their hands. “I just mean… I’ve been hard wiring myself for the stress of it all, but I guess there are some good things to look forward to… like, which one of our hair colours is it going to have? Will it have green eyes or blue? Will it be a  _ he  _ or a  _ she?” _

Jughead shuffled closer to Betty’s side. “I’m getting kind of attached to  _ it  _ as a pronoun. Much more gender neutral.”

Betty smiled wider and looked up at him. “Dork.” She said affectionately. She reached up and ran her thumb across his cheek, then pulled him down slightly for a kiss. 

Jughead relished in the way her fingers slid up into his hair, and kissed her briefly before, as was now normal when he kissed Betty for more than a few seconds, a darker thought entered his head. He pulled back before the darkness could ruin their moment. “Well…” he said, forcing the dark thoughts from his mind. “I know one thing for sure. It’s going to be beautiful, just like it’s mom.” 

A touched, emotional look came over Betty. “Jug…” she said softly, lovingly, then kissed him again. He could feel her smiling into his lips.

He gave her several more quick kisses, and tried to hold on to the new affection he felt for Betty, but he could feel the darkness creeping in again. But before it was able to suffocate his hopeful, awed feelings, he pulled back and took a deep breath.

“Hey Betty…” he started, and pushed through the brewing awkwardness, “I went to a therapist today…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming up:
> 
> Jughead gets a surprising new job offer.
> 
> Toni and Jughead confront the rest of the AV Club.
> 
> Betty and Jughead finally get to the bottom of the sex tape that was left at the Serpent Den.
> 
> FP’s legal issues are finally exposed.
> 
> Charles and Jughead team up to investigate the voyeur. And The Watcher’s next round of tapes is far too close to home for anyone’s comfort.


	18. Murder Boards... and Yale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charles and Jughead team up when they discover their murder boards have some startling similarities.
> 
> Betty coaches Polly into driving, but ends up receiving a pep talk of her own.
> 
> FP finally comes clean to Jughead about his legal struggles.
> 
> Jughead, Betty, and Jellybean head to Yale to tour the campus, and Betty makes a proposition about college that leaves Jughead feeling nervous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OHHH WHATS THAT? TWO CHAPTERS IN THE SAME WEEK (SORT OF)????? If there are spelling errors I’m very sorry - come back tomorrow and they will be gone.
> 
> Honestly I was just too excited about writing chapter 19 that I finished chapter 18 way faster than i thought possible. I’m glad I get to grace you with it before 5x5 comes out and all our Bughead dreams are crushed (or so the rumours go).
> 
> I’ve gone back through the previous chapters and fixed up 99% of the grammar and spelling mistakes. I also forgot that Toni already knew about the tickling videos, so I went back to chapter 11 and fixed that part up a bit too. There’s nothing I hate more in a series than INCONSISTENCY - probably why I have such a love/hate relationship with Riverdale at the moment.
> 
> Anyway, I hope this chapter doesn’t make you cry ! Because the next chapter might ;)

_There comes a time in every teen investigator’s life that he realises he may need to consult the professionals._

_It was this sentiment that led to me entering the Sheriff’s Department building for the first time since being almost arrested, making my way down into the basement-turned-FBI-office, and practically begging my brother to let me see the photos he’d confiscated from Dilton Doiley’s bunker._

“Why do you even want to see them?” Charles asked, leading Jughead around desks and stacks of files. Charles was the only agent in the basement, aside from the broody Director who was hidden behind a wall of books and paperwork in one of the tiny interrogation rooms. 

Jughead sighed as he followed Charles into a similar room, this one fitted with a television screen and document-laden desk. “I’ve hit a dead end with my investigation. Well, sort of. Toni’s working on getting our Voyeur suspects together so we can suss them out, and Betty’s been busy with Polly the last few days…”

“And by ‘suspects’ I assume you mean the other students in Riverdale High’s AV Club…” Charles turned back to Jughead and gave him a smirk.

Jughead rolled his eyes. “Gossiping with your parents again, Chuck?” 

Charles let out an uncomfortable laugh. “Well, Alice and FP have _plenty_ to say about yours and Betty’s situation…” he trailed off as he closed the door behind Jughead. “Speaking of, we searched Ethel’s house, Jug. There weren’t any copies of _any_ of your sex tapes. No photos either. Her mom got her a very good lawyer, and it’s going to be pretty hard to prove she was the one who took those videos, or that she put those photos up in the bunker.”

Jughead felt a chill come over him. “She admitted it to Betty…”

“It’s Betty’s word against hers, Jug. And truthfully… Betty doesn’t have a great reputation.” Charles’ expression tightened. “I’ve seen cases like this go to court, and it’s not going to be pretty. The defense will drag everything vaguely negative from the past up just to use it against you both.”

Jughead rubbed his forehead. “Well, Ethel isn’t the real enemy here… as creepy as her actions were, she isn’t the one who took those videos. And I really don’t think it was her that used my old laptop to post the first video online.” Jughead leaned back into his chair and watched as Charles moved towards a large green sheet pinned up on the wall. “How is that investigation going, by the way? Have you got any new leads? Or does the FBI still think I’m the villain.”

Charles paused, his hand outstretched to the top of the sheet. “I believe… that you’re still the prime suspect. Or at least, you were the last time I heard.”

“Great.” Jughead grumbled, then his head tilted to the side. “Wait… the last time you heard?”

Charles turned to face Jughead, and a guilty expression was planted on his face. “I should have told you this sooner.” He sighed and crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall. “I got taken off that case.” He admitted.

“Oh.”

“I’m sorry…” Charles rubbed the back of his neck. “I tried everything to get back on… I even did some of my own investigating. But child pornography cases are very sensitive things to hadnle, and so the Special Victims Unit took over. The Director here thinks I’m too close to the case, being your sibling and all…” 

Jughead stayed quiet for a moment. “I guess I understand that…” he paused, then continued. “Hey, I haven’t been arrested, right? So, I’m sure that counts for something. Did you find anything out about the case, or was it all hush-hush?”

Charles shrugged. “Well, I looked into your old Stonewall ‘buddies’. Brett’s alibi is solid, considering he’s still in prison. Donna was allegedly with her mother in another state, so again, solid alibi. Joan left the country months ago. But the real kicker is Jonathan.”

Jughead’s eyebrows raised. “What’s his alibi?”

“Well, the FBI could never locate him, so he technically doesn’t have one.”

“Wait, what?” Jughead asked, surprised. “Hold on, he _still_ hasn’t been found? You don’t think they actually killed him, do you?”

Charles shook his head. “I don’t know Jug. But his parents haven’t heard from him since a few days after _you_ were attacked. There’s still a warrant out for his arrest for attempted murder, and his mother reported him missing; but he’s eighteen, so the local law enforcement just thinks he ran because he was scared he’d be caught.”

Jughead felt horrified. “But, are they even _considering_ the idea that Donna and Brett could have offed him?” 

“Well, even if no one else is, _I_ am, Jughead.” Charles said firmly. “I’d like to dedicate _more_ of my time to the cause, in fact, but unfortunately I’ve been very _strongly_ reminded that I’m the lead in The Watcher case.” He indicated to the walls surrounding them, all lined with photos and notes and maps. “Which I’m grateful for, but that also means I have to watch hundreds of hours of footage to get even the most _minuscule_ of clues. And since most of my colleagues have been preoccupied with searching for the missing girls, I’ve been flying solo with most of my investigation.” Charles huffed and turned back towards the green sheet. “It’s _maddening._ ” He said, as he began to remove it.

Jughead was about to ask Charles for more information, but he became distracted by the photo wall that his brother unveiled. Jughead stood up slowly and walked cautiously forward. 

It was both beautiful and horrifying… and it was all _Jughead._

“This is…” Jughead swallowed as his eyes scanned the images. “It’s an… _obsession._ Ethel is _obsessed_ with me.”

Charles pointed to a graphic image of Jughead holding Betty’s hips down on his bunk bed, his head wedged between her legs. “Obsessed with you, or obsessed with the _idea_ of you?” He tapped Betty’s face. “Ethel scratched Betty’s face out of most of these. She’s likely using these images to insert herself into a fantasy relationship with you.”

“She manipulated me into kissing her once.” Jughead confessed, his stomach rolling with nausea.

Charles stared at Jughead from the side. “I won’t lie, I doubt that helped her get over you.” 

“I’m such an idiot.” 

Charles put his hand on Jughead’s shoulder. “You’re not an idiot. You’re a teenager.”

Jughead snickered. “Right.” He assessed the images on the walls. “You know… most of these photos are recent. _Really_ recent, like… the last few months of school recent.” 

“Since you _un_ -faked your death?”

Jughead considered that. “Yeah…”

Charles sighed. “Maybe your ‘death’ is what triggered Ethel’s obsession. Or at least, it made her escalate into taking photos of you when you weren’t watching. Hmm… these are your friends, right?” Charles pointed to a photo of Jughead, standing by his locker with Toni and Sweet Pea. “Ethel spent a long time in Shady Grove, Jug. It was probably isolating for her. She would have come back to school midway through the semester, and struggled to find her place in the social hierarchy. Leads me to believe she really _is_ living in a fantasy world.” 

Jughead allowed himself a slither of sympathy, but the stress and anxiety about being watched was still dominating his senses. “She’s fantasising about having friends and a boyfriend. She wants to be involved in other people’s lives. She’s… lonely.”

“Likely.” Charles agreed. “But… loneliness doesn’t excuse possessing child pornography.” Charles pulled one of the photos off the wall. “In the screenshots from your dorm sex tape, it’s hard to tell Betty is under eighteen.” He held the photo up in front of Jughead. “But in _this_ picture… well, I have no idea where this was taken, or when, but you and Betty are _clearly_ underage. You’re a lot skinnier, Betty’s hair is shorter, and I know for a fact she hasn’t been a cheerleader for a few years.”

Jughead practically ripped the photo out of Charles’ hands. He inspected it quickly, and noted the image of Betty, indeed in her River Vixen’s uniform, kneeling in the dirt in front of him as he leaned against the hood of her station wagon; one of his hands on the hood and the other gripping her ponytail… “Charles… I know where this is from. Someone left a video tape at the Serpent’s hangout…”

“Jug… you need to hand that in.” Charles turned and started to pace around the small room. “Or just get rid of it. _Destroy it_ \- but a video like that is _way_ too hot to keep in your possession.” Charles stopped in front of Jughead and lowered his voice to a whisper. “If your house gets raided, and the cops find that… it’ll be over for you. They’re never going to believe that you didn’t post your other sex tape online.” 

Jughead paled, then nodded slowly. “I’ll see what Betty wants to do. She’s the ‘child’ in this situation… it’s _her_ that’s the victim here.” 

“Jughead, how old are _you_ here?” Charles asked as he looked back down at the photo in his brother’s hand. 

“Sixteen.”

“Then you were a child too.” Charles looked at him seriously. “ _You’re_ still a victim in this case, Jughead. It’s not _just_ Betty who was preyed on by perverted voyeurs.” Charles took the photo out of Jughead’s hand and pinned it back in its place on the wall. “I know that you were targeted as the perpetrator by the FBI, and that a lot of people in Riverdale think you’re the one who uploaded the sex tape. But that doesn’t change the fact that _you_ were exposed in those videos, _you_ had your privacy invaded, and _you_ have to live with the side effects. It’s not _just_ Betty who’s been victimised.”

Jughead became too emotional to think of a true response, so instead he swallowed thickly and said: “Thanks.”

Charles shrugged. “It’s my job to know these things, Jug.” He started to place the sheet back over the section of the wall covered in Ethel’s photos. 

As Charles became preoccupied with covering up the photos, Jughead gazed around at the rest of the walls. There were articles and notes about The Watcher taped to the wall, as well as a large map of Riverdale with several red strings connecting different areas together. 

“Is that your Murder Board wall for The Watcher?” Jughead asked. 

Charles looked over his shoulder. “It thrills me to my core that you and Betty call this type of organised investigation style a ‘Murder Board’, especially when the evidence has nothing to do with murder.” He smiled and shook his head. “Yes, it is my _Murder Board_. It’s lacking in any actual suspects, but I’ve been trying to link locations to the video tapes… and time frames. The Watcher has an elaborate system going, and access to video taping equipment, and is _likely_ more than one person, but that’s basically all we know.”

Jughead stood beside Charles and looked over the board. The sticky note with _Underground Films_ written on it stuck out to him. “You’re looking at underground filmmakers?”

“I’m exploring as many avenues as possible.” Charles replied nonchalantly.

“You know, it’s funny, a few of our high school friends are trying to get into the Underground Film industry.” Jughead tried to recall what Betty had told him about her run-in with Reggie at the strip club. “Maybe some of the people me and Toni are investigating know about underground films, too.”

“Who exactly are you looking into?”

“A few seniors in the AV Club. So far, two people who were using screenshots of our sex tapes have been affiliated with that group. Our Voyeur likes to watch us… and they’ve made sex tapes of us, in both digital _and_ classic tape form… it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to consider that our Voyeur is in the AV Club.” Jughead looked around the room. “Your Murder Board room has quite a few similarities to mine and Betty’s Murder Boards.”

“You know…” Charles tapped the bottom of his chin with his knuckle. “It’s also not too much of a stretch to consider that The Watcher could be connected in some way to your own Voyeur.”

“Maybe they even know each other.” Jughead said curiously. “I mean, how many voyeuristic filmmakers can there be in a small town like Riverdale?”

“Jughead…” Charles stared at him with wide eyes. “You’re completely right.” 

Jughead raised his eyebrows. “I am?”

“ _Yes._ There _aren’t_ many filmmakers in Riverdale.” He briskly walked to his desk. “In fact, maybe The Watcher and your Voyeur don’t just _know_ each other… maybe they _are_ each other.” Charles scribbled on a sticky note then ripped it off. He stuck it on the wall behind him, right next to the word _SUSPECTS._ “Or at least, they could be part of the same group.”

“Wow.” Jughead said as he stared at the wall. “I mean, it’s crazy… but this is Riverdale. Weirder things have turned out to be connected.”

“Are you still looking for a new job?” Charles asked, and there was an excited energy surrounding him as he turned to Jughead.

Jughead nodded. “Yeah. I am. UberEats is great, but it’s not going to cut it. There just aren’t many jobs around that will take a High School graduate with no college degree…”

“I think I have an idea.” Charles said, his eyes shining bright. “A way for me to work on your case under the _guise_ of working on mine….” A sly smile emerged on Charles' face. “And I may be able to help you get that new job after all…” 

  
  


…….

“You don’t have to do this now, Pol.” Betty told her sister seriously. 

Polly nervously clutched the steering wheel of Betty’s station wagon. “Yes, I do.” She took a deep breath and turned the key in the ignition. She jolted as the engine kicked in, but made no move to touch the gear stick. 

Betty shifted in the passenger seat. “You had a rough couple of days, Polly. No one would blame you for rescheduling your driving test. You don’t have to do it tomorrow…”

Polly shook her head furiously. “I would blame me.” Polly’s knuckles whitened as she gripped the wheel tighter. “I can’t stay in Thistlehouse forever. And I also can’t rely on other people to drive me around for the rest of my life.”

Betty sighed. “Polly, you know Mom doesn’t mind… neither does Cheryl. _I’ll_ happily take you wherever you need to go whenever I’m in town.” 

“But what about when you’re _not_ here? When Cheryl goes to college? When Mom gets a new job? No.” Polly squared her shoulders. “I need to drive. _I have to drive._ I can’t ever be in a situation like I was last Saturday…”

Betty comfortingly rubbed Polly’s knee. “You can’t let Ethel dictate your life, Polly.”

“It’s not _Ethel,_ it’s…” Polly swallowed nervously, and stared straight ahead. “I couldn’t just leave, Betty. When I started to feel uncomfortable, and I wanted to take my children and run, _I couldn’t._ Because I didn’t have a way to drive away. I don’t have a car. If my kids are in danger, I can’t protect them if I don’t have an escape route.”

Betty smiled sadly. “I understand, Polly… but you can take a _break,_ okay? It’s been a rough couple of _years_ for you, if we’re being honest. You don’t have to be Super Mom and do everything _right now_.” 

“I had enough of a break when I was in Shady Grove, Betty.” Polly turned her face towards her sister. “But I can’t just _take a break_ from motherhood. When you’re a Mom you don’t get to just _stop_.”

The words hit Betty deep. “Ahh… yeah…” nausea started to rear its head.

At the look on Betty’s face, Polly smirked. “Oh my God, don’t _you_ start panicking. You need to be ready to take the wheel.”

Betty laughed nervously. “Yeah… I’m fine. I’m not about to spiral or freak out about motherhood _at all.”_

Polly reached out to take Betty’s hand. “Hey, I was in a cult _and_ had a complete breakdown last year. If _I_ can do it, so can you.”

“Aren’t _I_ meant to be comforting you, and giving _you_ the ‘you can do it’ speech?” Betty took Polly’s hand and placed it on the gear stick. “I know you can, by the way. I know… that Dad taught you how to drive.” 

Polly and Betty paused and smiled sadly at each other for a moment. “Yeah…” Polly nodded. “And even back then I was a nervous driver. But now… I _have_ to do this: for my kids. I need to drive, so that when my kids need me, _I’m_ there.” 

Betty nodded. “Okay. Well, the first step is actually putting the car in reverse.” 

Polly laughed. “I’m getting there, Betty.”

…… 

  
  


_It was an odd feeling to be working with the FBI._

_I almost felt like a high-paid snitch, which felt all kinds of dodgy. But it was liberating, in a way, to be making decent money._

_Being an FBI informant paid insanely well, and I finally felt like I was contributing equally to Betty’s money-making plan. I kept doing the odd UberEats delivery whenever I had time, which made me feel more relaxed whenever I spent money unnecessarily._

_And it was kind of exciting knowing that the investigative work I’d done in my own spare time was actually contributing to uncovering the person (or people) who had been spying on my relationship._

“Polly told Betty everything Ethel said to her about the Underground Film industry in Riverdale.” Jughead told Charles the second he walked into Charles’ small Murder Board office. “I’m almost certain this is a real lead. There really _is_ a group of people who share and watch voyeuristic video tapes!”

Charles nodded with a smirk on his face. “Good morning to you too, bro.” 

“Sorry, I’ve been bursting with this information all night.” Jughead landed ungracefully on a desk chair. “They share real video tapes with each other, but they also have a website that you have to pay to view. I shudder with the thought of what could be on there…”

_Betty continued working for Elio at the Hoe Zone. He was right, it boosted the morale of the other girls to see her coming back to work. Every time I picked her up, she was smiling. Glowing with the excitement that working for a fast paced and well-paid job afforded her._

_With me working a better paying job, Betty wasn’t as stressed about money. She began eating on a daily basis. She wasn’t nearly as exhausted, had more time to prepare for college and even began looking at baby-related items online. She still received obscenely large tips at the strip club, and put those into her as-yet untouched savings account._

_Even though the state of Riverdale was in shambles, I felt a sense of calm whenever I returned home. Me and Betty were now almost completely on opposite schedules, but I still made sure I could take her to and from work at nights. Elio had been serious about getting extra security. The Serpent bouncers literally walked Betty out to the car every single night._

_And soon enough a week had gone by, with Betty and I hustling in our respective workplaces to make as much money as humanly possible - and to gather intel on our investigations._

_Of course, there were times when the workload at the FBI office could get tedious…_

“I see why you desperately wanted to outsource your job to someone else.” Jughead commented after he’d finished watching his fourth video of the day.

Charles looked up from the notes he was writing and smirked. “Find anything interesting?”

“It’s literally all just surveillance.” Jughead groaned and leaned back into his seat. “Whoever is spying on houses in Riverdale… they’re not _doing_ anything with the footage. They’re just… putting it onto the doorsteps of the houses they’re watching.”

Charles nodded and stood up from his desk chair. He moved over to his giant Murder Board wall with a quizzical look on his face. “I’ve been trying to work out their motive. If The Watcher is recording footage of someone’s house to get some sort of information from them, it could be for blackmail purposes. But nobody seems to be getting threatened with the footage… they just receive it. Like… a _gift_ , or something.” Charles tilted his head to the side, as though if he literally looked at the board from a different angle, it would show him a different idea. “But a gift isn’t threatening… these videos, though? I don’t believe they’re meant to bring joy to their viewers.”

Jughead pondered the footage in relation to his own Voyeur. “Well, just _knowing_ someone is watching you is a threat in itself…” he felt the uncomfortable panic he’d associated with someone spying on him and Betty’s sexual dalliances creeping in, and swallowed. “The thought that whatever you do… there could be someone spying on you and you’d never know. It’s…” Jughead cleared his throat. “It’s sickening. Maybe The Watcher’s motive is just that he wants the people of Riverdale to know that they’re being watched.” 

Charles faced Jughead. “Good point…” he turned back to the board again. “I’m still of the impression it’s a group of people. It’s implausible to assume that one person could set up such a large surveillance network without distributing the workload to others; but they probably have a leader who keeps the unit organised. Riverdale is a small town, but there are thousands of homes and businesses to cover - you would need a team of people, and access to highly sophisticated monitoring equipment.”

An idea sparked in Jughead’s mind. “Actually… it’s not _all_ of Riverdale under surveillance.” He picked up his own notes and stood to hand them to Charles. “I know it’s still early days of me reviewing all the footage, but I noticed that so far I’ve only seen tapes of properties on the North Side.”

Charles raised his eyebrows. “I won’t lie, I hadn’t noticed that.” He picked up a stack of post-it notes and began scribbling something down. “I have to admit, the heated discrimination between the North and South Sides often alludes me.”

Jughead nodded. “Well, you weren’t raised here, so it makes sense you don’t have a lot of context.”

Charles ripped off a few post-it notes and started to stick them around the _MOTIVE?_ word on his wall. “If The Watcher specifically _isn’t_ targeting houses on the South Side, there could be a political or social justice motive to their work.” He stuck the appropriate notes onto the wall and stared at them. “The Watcher could even live on the South Side. What sort of things would make a South Sider dislike the North Side enough to want to make them all live on edge?”

Jughead snickered. “Where do you want me to start?”

Charles turned back to look at Jughead over his shoulder. “It’s that bad, is it?” 

Jughead moved to join Charles next to the wall. “There’s classism, racism, a _distinct_ socio-economic difference; the South Side has a higher crime rate, more drug and alcohol abuse, and a bigger percentage of homelessness… most of the people on the South Side hated the fact that the High School was shut down and turned into a prison. Most of the supporters of the prison were from the North Side.”

“And you were among the loudest of the opposition, from what I read.” Charles said casually. 

Jughead paused in his tirade. “You know about that?”

A sly smile slid onto Charles’ face. “You didn’t think when I found out my father _wasn’t_ the Black Hood that I might want to do some genealogical research?” Charles shrugged. “The first time I googled your street name, the second article that popped up was from the Greendale Gazette. _‘Local teen gang members protest the closure of high school’_ was _quite_ the read.”

Jughead laughed hard. “I’ve never heard anyone call ‘Jughead’ a street name.” 

“Are you telling me it’s _not_ the name you got from being in a gang?” Charles’ eyes widened in surprise.

“If only I was _that_ cool, bro.” He stopped laughing and readjusted his beanie. “Although to be fair, growing up on the South Side probably contributed to my nickname.” 

Charles’ eyes raked over Jughead curiously, but he didn’t prod him for more details. “So let’s assume for a minute that this is someone who is angry about the way the South Side is being treated… could the videos be some kind of ‘protest’ against the North Siders?”

“Not a protest…” Jughead tapped his chin with his knuckles. “Sure, The Watcher may have everyone’s attention, but if he or she is protesting against the North Side they haven’t really made that obvious. And protests are usually _very_ obvious.”

“True. I suppose if they were protesting classism in the North Side they would have gathered all their fellow teen South Side gang members and chained themselves up out the front of Hiram Lodge’s office.” Charles said, a hint of amusement in his voice. 

Jughead grinned at Charles in response. 

“So not a protest.” Charles said as he turned back to his list of possible motives. “But they still could be trying to make a statement.” 

Jughead crossed his arms over his chest. “You know… something I hated about growing up on the South Side was the way people would look at me. No matter what I did, people would still give me these disgusted looks. It was a lot worse in my first year of high school - the idiot jocks on the football team in particular _really_ gave it to me; I would have to look over my shoulder to make sure they weren’t following me… but I always felt like I was being watched somehow.”

There was a spark of something dark in Charles’ eyes, but he kept his gaze forward. “Is it common for kids from the South Side to get picked on by the other students?”

Jughead shrugged. “It depends on the person, I suppose. Not a lot of students from the South Side ever went to Riverdale Elementary, or the Middle School, and most people that go to Riverdale High would never admit that they lived on the South Side. The South Side has a pretty bad reputation; people - both students and teachers - assume you’re going to rob them, or that you’re on drugs, or you want to start a fight…” Jughead paused to consider. “I guess the High School is a lot better now for South Side kids, because _everyone_ in Riverdale goes there. There was a _lot_ of tension to begin with when South Side High was first shut down because all the students in Freshman and Sophomore year had to transfer there, but by the end of my senior year, most of the North Side students seemed to have accepted the South Side ones. I’d say that you’d be hard pressed to find as much discrimination towards the kids from the South Side at Riverdale High now. When I was younger it was _very_ different to how it is now.”

Charles turned to face Jughead properly, his brows creasing together. “Jughead… I think you’ve just given me my best lead yet.”

“Um… really?” Jughead shook his head in shock. “My tales of High School woe have helped you crack the case?”

“Not completely.” Charles admitted. “But what you were saying about feeling watched all the time, like you had to keep a look out over your shoulder in case someone was there… I mean, weren’t you also just telling me that that’s exactly what The Watcher wants people to feel?”

Jughead dropped his arms to his sides. “So maybe The Watcher wants to give the North Side a taste of their own medicine.” His mind whirled with the possibilities. “But they’ve chosen to do it through videotapes… an old fashioned technology, for sure… but effective.” Jughead raised his own eyebrows. “It’s almost like this is some kind of elaborate artwork, or film project.” 

“That,” Charles said firmly, “is going to _immensely_ help me with my profiling.” He gave Jughead a smile. “Maybe I should have been pushing _you_ to join the FBI.”

Jughead only laughed at that.

……. 

_I found the empty bottles by accident._

_It was the night before Betty’s twenty week scan. The small trash can that was tucked away inside the kitchen was too heavy for Alice to empty, and so I dutifully volunteered to take it out to the larger garbage disposal next to the garage._

_I wasn’t snooping through the recycling, honestly. But as I arrived at the large garbage cans, I lugged the small trash can up a little too high and almost dropped it - in my effort to regain my grasp I knocked the recycling bin, and it clinked and rattled in a hauntingly familiar way._

_I froze. I was instantly thrown back into years of dealing with that very same noise - the sound of empty bottles smashing against each other when I tripped over them in the dark trailer. Memories flooded back: my alcoholic father yelling at my mother, the chilling sounds of her throwing empty bottles at him, the shattering of the glass against the kitchen cabinets…_

_I put the small trash can down on the grass, and ripped the lid of the recycling off the can. My heart sank when I saw what I already knew would be there… empty bottles of beer, scotch, whiskey, wine…_

_My good mood evaporated._

_I wanted to confront my dad… I had so many questions. When did he start drinking again? Was he even_ trying _to stay sober? Was this why he had such an exhausted, haunted look about him lately? Was it why he was so irritable?_

_Was this the reason he wouldn’t look me in the eyes—_

  
  


“You writing in here, boy?” FP’s voice interrupted Jughead’s furious typing.

Jughead jolted and shut his laptop quickly. It wouldn’t have mattered; FP couldn’t see the screen from the bedroom door, but guilt still welled up in Jughead. He placed the laptop on the window seat beside him, and nodded to his father. “Yeah. I was. You sort of snuck up on me there, Dad. Lost my train of thought.”

FP’s face was pale, and Jughead noted a large white bandaid on the side of his forehead. “Sorry, Jug. I’ll leave you to it.” He said in a neutral expression. 

FP started to turn away, but a longing for his Dad’s company overtook Jughead. “Dad, wait.” Jughead said quickly. “I was pretty much done for the night anyway. I couldn’t sleep, so I’m just occupying myself until Betty’s shift at the club ends.”

FP nodded and moved deeper into the bedroom. He made his way over to the bed and sat down to face his son. “Alice told me Betty has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow.” 

Jughead waited for FP to elaborate, but when he merely stared at him, Jughead cleared his throat. “Yeah, she does. She’s five months in now.” Jughead scratched his beanie-covered head. “Not long until the baby can survive outside the womb, as Betty likes to remind me.”

FP let out a small chuckle that didn’t quite match the dark circles under his eyes. “How’s she been lately? Not sick anymore?”

Jughead’s guards were up. His father had barely mentioned Betty’s pregnancy - had barely spoken to him, for that matter - since finding out about it. Why the sudden curiosity? “She’s been a lot better. Still can’t eat much - although Jellybean convinced her to eat a plain hot dog bun the other day, so she’s expanding her horizons. And she’s still usually sick in the morning, but not all day anymore. Hopefully that’s how things stay for her.”

FP nodded slowly. “Good. I’m glad.” 

Jughead awkwardly waited for FP to say more, but he seemed to be raging some sort of internal battle. “Um, Dad… how are _you_ doing?” He asked, eyeing the bandaid on his father’s head. 

“Don’t worry about me Jug. I’m fine.” FP waved his hand dismissively, and Jughead tried not to let the frustration boil him alive. “I wanted to ask you something. You and Betty - still planning to go down to New Haven?”

Jughead paused a moment before answering. “As in for college or to check it out? I mean, the answer is yes to both, so…”

“I meant to check it out.” FP said, and turned to face Jughead a little more directly. “I remembered you saying you wanted to take the van down there.”

Jughead and Betty _had_ wanted to do so a few weeks earlier, but Betty’s illness and recovery had delayed them. “Um, well, yeah we are… the current plan is to leave early Monday morning and be back Wednesday so we don’t miss too much work.”

“Good, good… do you think you could take your sister with you?”

Surprise filled Jughead’s entire body. “I mean, I’m sure Betty won’t mind, but… why? We’re literally just touring Yale and looking at apartment buildings. Jellybean’s gonna be bored the whole time…”

“She’ll survive.” FP said, shaking his head. “Listen, Jug. I’m gonna be going to Toledo for a couple days, and I can’t bring your sister with me. But I _also_ can’t leave her here alone.”

Jughead crossed his arms across his chest and leaned more comfortably against the side of the window. “Is Alice suddenly an unfit guardian in your eyes?”

“No, she’s coming with me…” FP abruptly snapped his mouth shut.

Jughead sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Dad… what’s going on?” He said, then as FP opened his mouth, Jughead firmly added: “And don’t tell me it’s none of my business, or that I don’t need to worry about it.”

“You’re right. You’re right… you should know now.” FP was still pale as he came and sat down next to Jughead. “The reason I didn’t tell you sooner is that I wasn’t really sure what to say… or how to explain it in a way that wouldn’t make you angry.”

“Well, you’ve caught me in a good mood,” Jughead said unconvincingly. FP raised his eyebrows, and Jughead let slip a humourless laugh. “In any case, I doubt I’ll be irreversibly annoyed at you, Dad.”

“Thanks but… it’s not _me_ you’re gonna be mad at.” FP grumbled. “Before I tell you, I need you to swear you won’t tell your sister until I know for sure the legal proceedings are going ahead…” 

“Legal proceedings…” Jughead said slowly. “How am I supposed to promise that when I don’t even know what’s wrong?” He asked in a voice that sounded much more calm than he felt. 

“Okay, okay…” FP groaned and rubbed his hands over his eyes before looking at Jughead again. “I know you’ve seen Mary Andrews and Sierra McCoy over here helping me sort through some legal stuff.”

Jughead nodded and kept his eyes on FP. “Betty overheard Mrs Andrews say you were being sued.”

FP frowned, and his eyes became unfocused. “I’m not being ‘sued’ in the way you’re probably thinking, Jug. But, I guess this is _technically_ a lawsuit…”

Jughead sat up straighter and moved forward. “By any chance is _Mom_ involved with these legal proceedings?” He asked, thinking of his mother’s random and brief appearance in Riverdale. 

“In a way, yes. Well, no - she _is_ involved. But it’s… complicated.” FP stood up slowly and made the short journey to join Jughead at the window seat. He sighed and looked down for a long time, before he swallowed and made eye contact with Jughead. “Your grandparents in Toledo… they’re suing me and your Mom for custody of Jellybean.”

It was so far beyond anything that Jughead had expected, that he was momentarily speechless. “They’re… _what?”_

“I didn’t want to tell you because it’s probably not going to get past the first hearing.” FP continued to explain. “I didn’t want to cause a rift between you two kids and your grandparents.” 

“Dad…” Jughead’s voice was barely above a whisper.

It was like the floodgates finally opened for FP, and all the secrets he was hiding flowed free. “They think it’s dangerous here in Riverdale, and honestly, they’re not wrong. They’re religious folk, _traditional_ \- they really aren’t happy with me and Gladys separating, and they’re definitely not the biggest fans of Alice. Even so, they never liked me; they knew where I came from and nothing I did was ever good enough for them. When I got your Mom knocked up before we were married… well, World War Three would have been easier to deal with.” FP swallowed. “When your Mom left and went to live with them a few years back… she told them both about a lot of shitty things I’ve done in the past. Rightfully so.” FP added quickly, as if to defend Gladys. “She had every right to tell them everything. They took her and Jellybean in when I fell off the wagon and your Mom was at her wits end… it’s only now they’re using it against us.” 

Jughead’s voice wavered. “What kind of things?”

“Just things that have happened over the years, Jug.” FP rubbed the back of his neck and looked down. “Their lawyers are focusing on my criminal record, your mom's criminal record… and _your_ criminal record.” 

_“Mine?”_ Jughead asked incredulously. “Is that why you had my juvie release papers out a few months ago?” When FP nodded, Jughead continued. “But… I was _ten_ when I went in there. It’s irrelevant.”

“Not to your grandparents.” FP admitted sadly. “And it might not be irrelevant to a judge when they hear you’ve grown up and made several sex tapes with an underage girl, _and_ joined a biker gang.” 

Jughead felt heat growing in his throat and eyes. “It wasn’t me who made those tapes.”

“I know that Jug.” FP’s hands twitched like he wanted to reach out and comfort Jughead, but he wasn’t sure how to. “I’m sorry to say this, but it won’t matter. Your grandparents are painting you as a bad influence. They’re portraying me as a terrible father, and your mother as a lost cause.” FP looked sadder than Jughead had ever seen him before. “Also… you should know, Jug. Your Mom’s wanted by the FBI. She was up to some _bad_ stuff in Toledo. I’m not sure how much your grandparents know about all that, but if we end up going into a full blown custody trial, then there are plenty of legal records that can be used against us. Bottom line is… your grandparents don’t think Jellybean is safe with me.”

“But you’re still her dad… they can’t just take her away from you.” Jughead said, though he wondered if he was trying to convince himself or FP.

“Mary seems to believe that too…” FP nodded. “But it’s not that simple, Jug. Me and your mom did a lot of stupid shit when we were younger… it was to get by, keep a roof over our heads and food on the table for you and your sister, but still, _stupid_.”

Jughead remembered his mother’s words just before she’d led him and his father into Pop’s for a G&G influenced armed robbery: _“Kind of reminds me of the old days, huh?”_ she had said. He remembered his own reaction back then, too: _“You guys have done this before?!”_ Jughead’s stomach clenched. Stupid stuff indeed. 

“There’s a few CPS reports from your schools,” FP continued. “And the fact that you were in foster care twice…”

Jughead cocked his head to the side. “Twice? You mean… sophomore year wasn’t the only time I’ve been in foster care?!”

“When you were three we were living in our car…” FP sighed. “That was when I first got sent to jail for robbery. When the cops realised I was living in my car with a kid, CPS got involved… they figured out your mom was selling drugs… and you got put in foster care.” His eyes glazed over. “The courts gave you to your grandparents for a few months. When I got out, me and your Mom did everything we could to get into a rental house so we could get you back. But… your grandparents wouldn’t give you back to us until it was court ordered.”

Jughead’s heart was racing. “How… how could I not know any of this?”

“You were three years old, Jughead. It’s not exactly a shining moment in the Jones family history that I enjoy bringing up.” FP shifted uncomfortably. “I lost custody of you _twice,_ and both times it was because I was in jail and your Mom couldn’t cope. That doesn’t exactly give me a good track record.”

Jughead couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but at the same time, the realness of the situation started to eat away at Jughead’s heart. “When CPS came to our house in June…”

“It was because your grandparents sent them here.” FP confirmed. “Your mother was upset when she found out about you faking your death… she let slip a lot of things that have gone down in Riverdale. But I don’t blame your Mom for that; she never thought her parents would try to do something like this. I can’t say I really blame your grandparents either. When JB was in Toledo with them, they knew everything that was going on. And to the people who don’t live here, Riverdale is a crazy town. They’re just trying to get Jellybean back under their roof now because they claim she was doing better at school and living in a safer environment under _their_ care.”

Jughead was silent for a long time. “So… what happens now?”

“Truthfully, as much as they think _I’m_ an awful parent, they think your mother is even worse.” FP cleared his throat. “Your Mom came to town to sign an affidavit that stated she wasn’t a part of Jellybean’s upbringing and hadn’t been for the past year - she’s emphasising the fact that she doesn’t want Jellybean exposed to her criminal activities. She also made a statement that she is willing to have no contact with Jellybean until she’s eighteen if it means Jellybean stays in my care.”

“Wow…” was all Jughead could say. 

“She signed the house completely over to me so it's not in her name anymore - if she goes to prison any time soon then the house can’t be sold to pay off her debts because it’s no longer one of her assets.”

_What the hell kind of stuff has my Mom been doing?_ Jughead wondered, feeling ill.

“So, your grandparents have filed for custody, and honestly, Jug, they have the money to drag this out for as long as they want.” A despairing emotion flashed over FP’s face. 

“But, Dad… if you knew you needed to fight them in court, why did you quit being the Sheriff? Isn’t it going to look bad to the judge that you're unemployed?” 

FP sighed. “I made a deal with Sierra. If I got Tom Keller his job back, then she’ll represent your Mom for free when she inevitably ends up getting arrested. And honestly, Jug… I couldn’t be the Sheriff anymore. The Ghoulies are too active… and I can’t do anything about them with Hiram Lodge breathing down my neck.” He shrugged. “If I can’t get a new job anytime soon it just means I’m a perfectly regular stay-at-home Dad with plenty of time to spend raising my daughter. Besides, my _partner_ still has a job… so that’ll pay off.” 

“So that’s why Alice didn’t end up quitting the Register...” Jughead felt like he was developing a headache. “Is it going to be a problem that you’re still _married_ to Mom, though?” 

“It could be… but if we get divorced, there are certain spousal privileges that I won’t be given anymore.” FP pulled at a stray thread on the seat cushion. “When the law catches up to your Mom - and it _will_ , Jug - I won’t have to testify against her if we’re still married.” Jughead’s eyes widened, and FP went on to further explain: “I know a lot about her past, Jug… we’ve been married almost twenty years.” He tapped the side of his head. “Luckily, in criminal court you can’t be subpoenaed to testify against your wife. Me and your mom… we aren’t ever going to get back together… but that doesn’t mean I wanna see my kids mother thrown in jail.”

Jughead nodded. There wasn’t much he could say.

“I don’t want Jellybean to know her grandparents are trying to split us up.” FP said seriously. “Not if it isn’t even going to go forward.”

“Don’t worry, Dad… I’m not going to tell her. I promise.” Jughead said, then eyed his father’s head. “But Dad… are you okay?” He pointed to the bandaid.

“Oh that; I fell over in the kitchen.” FP touched his forehead. “Not to worry, Alice patched me up.”

It was the second time FP had used the _I fell_ excuse for being injured. Jughead wasn’t really buying it, and the empty bottles in the recycling came back to him… but his father had opened up to him for the first time in a long time. He wasn’t going to ruin that by pushing him too hard in one night.

Jughead’s phone pinged, and he reached into his back pocket to pull it out. _Finishing in twenty,_ was the message from Betty.

“Have to go pick your girlfriend up?” FP asked.

“Yeah, soon.” Jughead typed a reply to Betty and then put his phone away. 

“At your age, Jug…” FP said, and Jughead looked up at him in anticipation. “I would never have stepped up to my responsibilities the way you are.”

Jughead’s expression softened. “Dad… you can’t know that…”

“Oh, I can and I do, boy.” FP said, his lips thinning into a straight line. “I know I haven’t been the best father to you lately - or ever, honestly - but I’ve still noticed things, Jughead. I see you, working hard, stepping up to the plate to support Betty.” FP reached out to tap Jughead’s leg. “You’re a better man than I’ll ever be, Jug, and I’m happy about that. You didn’t run away when things got scary, when things got _real._ You’re trying to do right by your kid, and your kid’s mom… and I’m _so_ proud of you, Jug.”

Jughead could always tell when FP was lying, but right in this moment he knew without a doubt that his father was being genuine. Maybe if Jughead was a hormonal, pregnant teenager he would have shed some tears over it. As it was, his throat constricted and the walls he’d built up to keep his father from hurting him came crumbling down. “Thanks, Dad.”

……

“Elizabeth! Jughead! Did you bring back any pictures?!” 

“Let them actually get in the door, Alice…”

“Oh, _please_ , FP. You’re just as anxious to see it as I am!” 

Alice practically vibrated with energy as Betty and Jughead entered the kitchen. Betty smiled. “Yes, Dr Patel printed us out a few copies. Here.” Betty reached into her handbag and pulled out a small square photo of her ultrasound and handed it to her enthusiastic mother. 

Jellybean stood up from her place at the table and moved towards Alice curiously. 

“Aww - just _look_ at it, JB.” Alice said, and drew her arm around Jellybean’s shoulders. 

“Woooow… a blue blob.” Jellybean said, her expression twisting into a smirk as she looked up at Jughead. “Congratulations Jug, all of your Alien genes were successfully passed on. You can finally begin your nerd colony… your _Nerd Herd_ , I should say.” She grinned widely as her older brother reached out to mess up her hair.

Alice snickered, then handed the image to Jellybean to hold. She used her free hand to reach behind her and grab onto FP’s limp arm. “Look FP, that’s our _grandchild.”_ She said as she dragged him closer.

“Yeah I see it, Alice, I see it.” He shook his head in amusement, and reached out to take the photo off of Jellybean. “Very… ah, cute.” He said awkwardly - though his smile was real.

Betty nudged Jughead and whispered: “They sure came around.” Jughead wrapped his arms around her and kissed the side of her forehead.

“So? What was it?” Alice asked, her enthusiasm mixing with her curiosity. “Boy or girl? There _is_ still only one in there, right?”

“Yep.” Jughead said, feeling light and happy. “No spontaneous multiplication of our _one_ infant, don’t worry.”

Betty spared a glance at Jughead, then smiled back at her Mom, FP and Jellybean. “We decided not to find out.”

_“Noooo.”_ Jellybean said dramatically and shot an accusing look at Jughead. “You’re going to make me wait until _December_ to find out if I have a Niece or Nephew?! _Uncalled for,_ bro.”

FP chuckled and smiled lightly at Jellybean. “You were a surprise too, JB. Didn’t find out until the day you were born. I was _so_ excited you were a girl. And your mom really wanted one of each, so we both got our wish that day.”

Jellybean merely rolled her eyes.

“Jeez, Betty… I couldn't _wait_ to find out when I was pregnant.” Alice said, a nervous look on her face. “I _needed_ to know as soon as possible what all my kids were. Don’t you want to plan out names? And nursery colours? Oh God, this house is nowhere _near_ baby proof. We’ll need to fix that…”

……

  
  


“That went… unbelievably well.” Jughead said as he sat down on his side of the bed. “I think your Mom is even… excited?” 

Betty smiled and stood in front of Jughead. He reflexively placed his hands on Betty’s hips. “She’s very _Team Yale_ about it… I think so long as I’m still going to school, she’s able to put aside her teen pregnancy panic attacks.” Betty put her hands on Jughead’s shoulders and rubbed her thumbs over the exposed skin. “I’m glad your dad’s come around… are you going to talk to him about the bottles you found?”

Jughead shook his head. “Maybe after he’s back from court… I don’t want to say something that’s going to push him over the edge.” 

Betty slid her hands up to his cheeks. “That’s fair enough, Juggie. For what it’s worth, I really don’t think the judge will want to go to trial. I was researching family court, and it’s more likely that he’ll make your grandparents go to mediation with your Dad.”

Jughead smiled. “Ever the optimist.” He slid his hands up her hips and wrapped his arms around her back as he pulled her closer.

She leaned down to peck him on the lips. “You know,” she said as she pulled away, “I’m glad we’re going to New Haven on Monday. I think getting some distance from Riverdale for a few days will do us all some good, JB included. Clear all our heads, realise there’s more to life than the town we were raised in.”

Jughead nodded. “Couldn’t agree more.” He pulled Betty back towards him again and she wrapped her arms around his neck as their lips met. They stayed like that for a moment, merely kissing each other slowly and sweetly.

Then Jughead slid his hands down to the back of Betty’s thighs and gripped them harder. She used the opportunity to place her legs on either side of him on the mattress, and gently lowered herself into his lap. They kissed deeper, harder… Jughead’s tongue slid against hers and she groaned in response.

When she felt Jughead’s hands sliding up inside the back of her shirt to skim the clasp of her bra, she pulled back. “Hey. No sex, remember?” She smirked as she watched him pout.

“ _Fine._ Okay, so…” Jughead placed his hands back on her hips. “How exactly does one _not_ have sex with their gorgeous, sexy, beautiful, _amazing_ girlfriend?” 

Betty raised her eyebrows and got up from his lap to sit next to him. “Well, I was thinking I might do some knitting…” the rest of her sentence was silenced by Jughead practically tackling her. She giggled as he laid half on top of her and kissed her deep.

Their attempts at ‘innocently’ making out didn’t last nearly long enough, because eventually Jughead’s anxiety started to creep back in. Betty felt compelled to pull away when he went stiff and his face paled - but when he’d calmed down she held him to her chest. And even though he was uncomfortable… being able to cuddle in close to Betty was nice. _Warm._

……

_“This is Simon Burke, reporting for RIVW. The body of a teenage girl was found in the early hours of the morning in Pickens Park. Efforts to identify the girl are currently underway, but a source working with the Sheriff's department indicated that she is more than likely missing Centerville teenager, Lia Sheridan. Lia went missing two months ago, and is one of seven girls believed to have been abducted by the same people… Sheriff Keller has asked the public to stay away from Pickens Park and allow FBI investigators to assess the evidence. Tune in at five PM for updated information, and our segment on local serial killers… could there be one living among us, preying on our children?”_

…… 

**The Riverdale Register**

Weekend Edition

MISSING CENTERVILLE TEENAGER FOUND DEAD

By Alice Smith

_It is with great sadness that I must write to confirm that the body of an eighteen year old girl found in Picken’s Park early Saturday morning was identified as missing Centerville resident, Lia Sheridan._

_In distressing times such as these, it is important for our community to remember that the teenagers who lose their lives, no matter how publicly and mysteriously, are still_ people. _People who deserve to be given, in death, the respect they were not afforded when their lives were stolen._

_Lia Sheridan was a bright young woman who recently graduated from Centerville High. She will be greatly missed by her friends and grandfather._

_I urge my readers to refrain from speculating and buying into the propaganda that some_ other _reporting outlets are using to exploit the deaths of young people in our community. We must not make assumptions based on the fear mongering of our local tabloids, instead, let us band together to keep our children safe, and allow the law enforcement to do their jobs._

_Sheriff Lansdown has agreed to temporarily lift Centerville’s curfew in order for a candlelight vigil to be held on the outskirts of Frigid Forest this coming Friday at 8PM. The vigil will be an opportunity for the community to honour the lives of Lia Sheridan and Parvati Dasgupta._

_We can only pray that the teenagers who are still missing, in both Centerville and Riverdale, will be found safely._

_If you have any information about the whereabouts of Tricia London, April Lambert, Ellen Ellison, Eliza Ellison-Mates, or Carla Clayton, please contact your local Sheriff’s Department._

…… 

The vintage blue Combi van had a noisy engine, and there was barely enough room on the bench seat for its three passengers. But the trip from Riverdale to New Haven went smoother than Betty expected. 

They stopped once to take a group selfie in front of a funny-shaped boulder on the side of the highway (“Guys, it looks like a _Jellybean!_ It’d be a war crime not to capture this wholesome family moment for my instagram account.” Jellybean had argued) and another time to get hotdogs from a diner that had _nothing_ on Pop’s but provided a good rest stop (Jellybean even flashed her phone at her road trip buddies and said: “Aww, _look_. Charles liked our boulder selfie! We should see if we can turn the photo into a big sticker for one of his ridiculous scented candles…”). Betty only ate the hotdog bun, and Jughead and Jellybean spent far too long arguing over who would get to eat her untouched frankfurt (“I’m older than you, and therefore _hungrier.”_ “Honestly, Jughead. You’re a father now, it’s time to learn to make sacrifices for the children under your care.”).

(Betty had to split the hotdog in half).

They were barely a minute away from the University when Jellybean, for the fifth time that hour, grumbled: “Are we there yet?”

Jughead huffed. “Is this Combi still in motion?” He said, his voice full of sarcasm.

“Hey, I’m just training you for the future. Annoying children on car trips will be your reality soon.” Jellybean replied, a smirk moulding itself onto her face.

“Yeah well… _actually,_ I think we are here.” 

Betty, who had her eyes closed while she rested against the bench seat, whipped them open and sat up straight.

Jellybean’s eyes widened. “Wait, this is what college looks like? It’s… _pretty._ There’s so much grass… no giant fences. I thought it would look like a school.” 

Jughead turned down a road that, fittingly, was called Elm street. “I think the college’s buildings are surrounding us. Is this all part of the university, Betty? This place is huge!”

Betty nodded, her eyes shining with enthusiasm. “It’s even bigger than you think, Jug. We haven’t even seen half of it yet.”

“Let me find somewhere to pull up near the main buildings…”

_The three of us spent the better part of four hours exploring the campus - or campus_ es, _I should say. Because Yale was so huge there was no way you could limit it to the singular name._

_Buildings were_ everywhere, _but so were cafes and student common rooms, and the campus itself was surrounded by the shopping city of New Haven. The ambient Summer sun shone through the leaves of the pretty and old trees, and the atmosphere of Yale University was bright… and happy._

_The architecture of the buildings was detailed; old stone dwellings and fancy concrete walls were among the nicest looking parts of the campus. But even so, the inside of some of the buildings looked so modern they could even be considered futuristic._

_It took us a while to figure out the campus map Betty had accepted from a receptionist at the Student Office, but we eventually made our way towards the residential college dorms…_

  
  


“Dude. This is where you’re going to _live?”_ Jellybean gasped as they arrived at Jughead’s dorm. “It’s like… a _palace._ I’m getting Keira Knightly in _The Duchess_ vibes from this whole university, but this building takes the cake. _”_

Jughead laughed as he looked up his residential college’s details on his phone. “Apparently the people who live at the Silliman College call themselves ‘Sillimanders’.” Jughead raised his eyebrows and looked at Jellybean. “That’s hilarious.”

_“Eew,_ aren’t college students meant to be smart? That’s so childish.” 

_“Hey_ , it’s a fun name you buzzkill.” 

“Keeping it real, as per my speciality dear brother.” Jellybean turned around and assessed the large grass area in the centre of Sillimander’s buildings. “Betty, where’s your dorm room going to be?”

“Um… well it’s called the Pierson College… but I’m so lost right now.” Betty stared around at the tall white building looming intimidatingly above her. “I think it’s that way…” 

Jellybean pulled her phone out and typed away. “Found it! You have to go _this_ way.” She pointed the opposite direction to where Betty faced. “You’re looking the complete wrong direction, B. Sorry to break it to you. It says it’s a ten minute walk from here if we cut through these buildings…”

“Wait, you can see the directions on your phone?” Betty said in surprise. She looked down at the campus map in her hand with a frown.

“Um, _yuh._ Google maps is all the rage now.” Jellybean wiggled the phone in her hand with a smirk.

“Huh… I just assumed it wouldn’t be that easy.”

Jellybean had pep in her step as she started to make her way towards Pierson College. “You pay that much to come here, I’d _hope_ they wouldn’t just make you read all the street signs and try to figure it out on those shitty paper maps. _How_ are you meant to understand where those blue boxes all are? They’re not even drawn to scale. _And_ you can barely see the writing.” She eyed the map in Betty’s hands with disgust.

When they made it to Pierson, Jellybean promptly announced that Betty’s residential college looked like _‘Hogwarts; if the architect wasn’t chronically depressed’_ , and the trio had a bizarrely enjoyable time choosing which would be the best trees to sit beneath. Jughead and Betty found an empty table to use while they showed Jellybean all the events their residential colleges held (“Halloween Inferno Dance? Why does that sound like a weekend in the Blossom mansion…” Jughead had teased), and facilities they had access to (“Keep making fun of the Piersonites and I won’t invite you to our dorm’s Movie Theatre, Juggie.” “Piersonites?! Betty, you’re killing me more than Jughead at this point.”).

Jughead’s favourite part of their self-led campus tour, however, had been the multiple library stops.

“Of course you nerds only care about the _billion_ libraries this place has.” Jellybean rolled her eyes.

“There’s fifteen, JB.” Jughead sighed happily as they entered their seventh library of the day. “ _Fifteen_ glorious places of infinite knowledge to choose from.”

“Watch out, Betty. Jughead’s going to leave you for a row of books.” Jellybean groaned as Betty let out a quiet laugh. “Okay, parents-to-be, it’s time for you to prove yourselves worthy by _feeding_ the starving child you brought here with you. I saw a Chipotle on Google maps near the Sillimanders…”

……. 

It was late into the evening when Jughead and Betty found themselves alone.

Well, not really alone. But Jellybean had long since closed her eyes and appeared to be sleeping on the plush faux-leather bench seat in the Combi. It was _cosey_ inside the van; Gladys had clearly tried to maximise the space by customising the rest of the van to include pull out drawers, and there were multiple mini-shelves which almost made up for the limited room - but having three people in the Combi was pushing the limits of comfortability.

Even so, Betty sighed happily as she laid down next to Jughead in the bed. “That table in front of JB could be used as a desk, you know…”

Jughead smirked. “Most tables _can_ be, Betts.”

Betty laughed. Jughead’s heart soared with happiness; Betty’s good mood was contagious. “This bed pops up into a lounge chair, did I tell you? I figured out how to make it work while you were with Charles last week. There’s empty storage containers underneath us right now. There’s a way to get the roof to pop up too, but it’s a bit rusty so I’ll need to WD-40 it when we get back home so it doesn’t snap off. Your Mom kept the engine in great condition but I could hear one of the back CV joints rattling while we were on the highway, so that’s going to be my main priority…” 

“You lost me a ‘rusty’, Betts. But that’s pretty cool.” Jughead rolled over to face her. “I’m all for not having to duck inside this thing. And maybe we can start storing baby stuff in here until we find an apartment…”

“I was thinking about that, actually.” Betty propped her head up onto her arm. “The table is multi-purpose…” a light blush made its way onto her cheeks. “It can be a place to eat, a desk, a shelf… a baby change table…”

Jughead assessed her curiously. “Yeah… what are you getting at?” 

“I was thinking that _maybe_ we don’t have to rush into finding an apartment.” Her eyes looked up at him pleadingly. 

Jughead sat up slowly. “You want to live in the Combi?”

Betty pursed her lips. “Not _forever…_ ” she sat up and crossed her legs to face Jughead. “We‘ve both already paid our security deposits on our dorm rooms. That’s fourteen hundred dollars we aren’t going to get back. And Jug, I know I’ve been preparing for the worst case scenario… but I probably _won’t_ have the baby early.” Betty squared her shoulders, gaining confidence in herself. “I _loved_ being at Yale today. It reminded me of everything I was working for at school. And I loved the atmosphere, the buildings, how close all the study and research facilities are… I imagine it’s only going to get better when our fellow Yaleys are around and we can start making friends and meeting new and exciting people.”

Jughead couldn’t help but agree with her. “I’m kind of surprised how much I enjoyed being here… a part of me thought it was going to be like living at Stonewall.”

Betty nodded and reached out to take Jughead’s hands. “Living in the dorms is a part of college life. It’s part of the whole _experience._ And I think… no, I _know_ that it’s something _I_ want to experience. I want _you_ to experience it. If we only spend a few weeks in the dorms, we aren’t going to have that experience.” She put a hand up to Jughead’s face and ran her thumb along his cheek. “We aren’t parents _yet,_ Jughead… we have time to make crazy and irrational decisions. But… this is our only chance, Juggie. After the baby is born we are never going to get this opportunity again.”

Jughead ran his free hand through his hair. “So you _don’t_ want to go look at apartments tomorrow. You want to just accept that we’re living in the dorm rooms.” 

“We have, at max, six months to be wild and free college students. I want us to make the most of it.”

Jughead pursed his lips. “But what about _after._ We can’t bring the baby back to our dorm rooms…”

“No, we can’t.” Betty tapped the bed. “But we _can_ bring it back _here._ ” She took Jughead’s hands again. “And if we’re still ‘technically’ living in the dorms, we can keep using the residential college facilities, like their bathrooms and butteries, for example. _And_ we can use our dorm rooms as our own personal spaces to study and store things if everything gets too cramped in here. Then we can look for actual places to rent before we start semester two. But this way, we have a place to go as soon as the baby is born without the added stress of trying to figure out where we’re going to live if I go into labour early.”

Jughead linked his fingers through hers. “You’re really serious about this.”

“I am, Jug.” Betty smiled. “I know it’s kind of a crazy idea… us living in a vintage van while we support a newborn baby _and_ put ourselves through college. But…” she squeezed his hands. “It’ll only be for a couple of weeks, maybe a few months. If you’re up for it, I think we can do this.”

Jughead could absolutely see her logic, and a part of him was even excited about the idea… but one thing held him back. 

Betty could sense his hesitancy, and asked: “What are your thinking? Be brutally honest, I can take it.”

Jughead could feel himself becoming emotional, and tried to swallow the lump forming in his throat. “I guess I’m just a little… I dunno, concerned maybe? Or, worried… I just—” Jughead cleared his throat. “I don’t want our baby to grow up the way I did…” he feigned an itchy eye and rubbed a threatening tear away before Betty could see it. “I promised myself years ago that if I ever had kids they wouldn’t end up homeless. And I know this isn’t exactly the same, but…” he swallowed. “It’s reminding me of that. Living in a trailer as a kid… it didn’t start out of great circumstances, and I don’t want that life for us.” 

Betty nodded understandingly. “When my Mom told me she was moving to The Farm…” she took a deep breath, and Jughead noted her own eyes were a little glassy. “The scariest part was not knowing where I would go when she left. And between crashing at V’s, and at yours… I always felt like a burden on your families. But the worst thing was realising I didn’t have a home anymore… even though I had people willing to help me, sometimes I just slept in my car because I couldn’t face you or Veronica, and I didn’t want to push the boundaries of our relationships in case I lost either of you.”

Jughead hadn’t known that last part, and his heart ached for her. He could honestly relate to her plight of homelessness. He’d felt similarly when he started living in the Andrews home. It was why he hadn’t told a soul when he was sleeping under the docks and the drive-in on the South Side, and why he waited so long to admit to Archie that he was hiding out under the stairs at school.

“But, it’s not going to be like that for us now, Juggie.” Betty said then took in a shaky breath. “We have each other.” She practically whispered. “And I can live anywhere as long as it's with you. You, me, and the baby… we can make it through this. We can be a family, even if it means living in a Combi until there’s an apartment available for us.”

Jughead stayed quiet for a moment while he thought about Betty’s idea. It was scary, but… it made sense. And truthfully, though it was cheesy, he liked the whole ‘ _home is where the heart is’_ ideal more than he’d like to admit. “Okay, Betty… if you’re sure about this…”

“I _am_ sure.” She said seriously, and smiled up at him. 

“Then in that case…” he took a breath and smiled at her. “I’m in.”

Betty’s smile lit up her face, and she leaned forward to kiss him lightly. He let her hands go to cup her face and pulled her towards him, and she crawled quickly into his lap to kiss him deeper. Jughead wrapped his arms around her body and held her while they kissed, the sounds of their lips pressing and pulling against each other the only noises in the quiet night.

Betty’s hands snaked around Jughead’s neck, and she pulled away from his lips to place her forehead against his. Eyes still closed, Jughead whispered: “I love you.” 

Betty smiled. “I love _you.”_ She said quietly, and kissed him again slowly, trying to savour the moment.

“Guys.” Jellybean’s sleepy voice cut through the quiet. “Before you start tearing each other’s clothes off, just a friendly reminder that I’m _still here.”_

Jughead jumped a little in shock, then rolled his eyes and sighed. “Relax, JB. I haven’t forgotten about you being here.” Jughead smirked at Betty. “We aren’t gonna do anything, even when you do fall asleep.”

“Keep it that way, please.” Jellybean yawned and stretched her arms out. “I know how that baby ended up inside Betty. I don’t need a live demonstration.”

_“Jellybean!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming up soon:
> 
> The truth about the video left at the Serpent Den is revealed, which may have catastrophic consequences for the South Side Serpents.
> 
> Betty and Jughead get ready to officially move to New Haven.
> 
> Veronica comes back home, but will she be able to forgive Archie for his emotional cheating?
> 
> Someone very close to Toni gets taken by the Ghoulies, but that isn’t the only thing they have in store for our beloved members of Riverdale...


	19. The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jughead gets a message from an old friend (spoiler alert - its Moose) who unintentionally gives Betty and Jughead their biggest lead on the person who spread their sex tape around Riverdale.
> 
> Jughead, Toni and Sweet Pea unmask the Voyeur who filmed Betty and Jughead in their bedroom, and find out who left the G&G video at the Serpent Den.
> 
> And someone very close to the Serpents gets taken by the Ghoulies...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I think we’re just about at the climax of the sex tape saga. (Plenty more content to come, don’t stress) I really, REALLY hope it hasn’t been to convoluted and confusing to follow. I know in my head the story I want to convey, so I only hope it translates well in written form haha.
> 
> Buckle up people, this chapter is jam-packed. 
> 
> Trigger warning for people who need it - an abduction takes place in this chapter. In a seperate ‘scene’ there are also some characters who make discreet references to sexual assault - but that’s not something I’ll ever describe or ‘show’ in this fanfic. The words aren’t even said, its honestly like two sentences long and less graphic than Cheryl talking about what Nick St Clair did in season 2. I just wanted to give y’all a heads up in case that sort of thing triggers you. If it does but you want to know what happens so you can read the next chapter, just message me and I’ll give you the ‘too long; didn’t read’ version of this chapter

_We had barely walked in through the front door when everything started going to shit._

“Jeez Dad, I wasn’t gone that long.” Jellybean grumbled from somewhere inside FP’s tight embrace. “Your separation anxiety is _embarrassing.”_

Betty and Jughead stood nervously behind her. Jughead could see it; his dad was _off._ He looked, if anything, _worse_ than he had the week before. 

“Well, I for one am really glad the three of you are back home.” Alice chirped from behind FP. When he released his daughter, Alice was quick to draw her into another over-enthusiastic hug. “The house just isn’t as lively without you in it.”

“Um… right.” Jellybean mused. She awkwardly pat Alice on the back. “Well, we were only a few hours away, not halfway across the country.”

FP’s face dropped even more, and Jughead felt a strong anxiety building. “Dad… can we talk?” He asked, and FP nodded and followed him upstairs.

They ended up in Jughead’s bedroom, and Jughead knew FP was on the verge of crumbling. 

“It’s going to trial.” FP said. His eyes were red, and Jughead could see that he was holding off on crying.

Jughead frowned deeply. “What happened, Dad?”

FP sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “The judge saw us early in the morning and sent us off to do mediation.” He shook his head slightly. “Mary was great; she tried negotiating an arrangement… we offered to send JB up there every few months to spend time with your grandparents… but they wouldn’t budge. They made it clear that they want custody and they aren’t going to negotiate.”

Jughead nodded, and waited.

“To begin with it looked like the hearing was going to go our way… the judge even said she thought they were wasting their time and money by dragging it through the courts. She said she was unwilling to uproot a teenager’s life because of squabbling family members, and she was about to dismiss the case. But then…” 

“... _then?”_ He prompted when FP had trailed off for a little too long.

A single tear slid down FP’s face, unnoticed by the man. “Their lawyer brought up the fact that JB found a dead girl’s body… the judge wanted to hear more and the lawyer started talking about the possible child pornography ring that was present in Riverdale. Even made a statement about the fact that _you_ were involved with the creation of some of the films.”

Jughead’s heart dropped. “How did our grandparents know about JB finding the body? It wasn’t in any of the news reports.”

FP’s face hardened into a grimace. “Somebody called them.”

“Who?!”

“Beats me.” FP said sadly. “But it was enough for the judge to decide our case was too complicated for a decision to be made that day. He wants to delve deeper into our family history and find out what the best interests of JB are.” He rubbed his hands over his eyes. “JB has to go stay with _them_ for a few weeks. Then when she goes back to school she’ll go to them once a month for the weekend until our trial starts. And we have to submit evidence and statements to the courts… everyone in the family is going to be interviewed, including you and Betty, and JB will be assigned a Guardian ad Liden for the rest of the proceedings, and has to talk to a psychologist…” 

“Dad…” Jughead whispered.

“I don’t know if I’m going to win this.” FP admitted. 

Jughead, for the first time, wasn’t sure if he would either. He watched as FP crumbled in on himself, and wrapped his arms around his father in a supportive hug.

_Jellybean didn’t take the news well._

_She cried, and refused, and threatened to run away, and it was only when I pointed out that doing so would only prove her grandparents right, that FP was a bad father who couldn’t keep his daughter safe, that she agreed to follow along with the court ordered interim custody agreements._

_And then the next blow came to our family…_

  
  


“Who the _fuck_ told these assholes about the baby?!” Jughead practically yelled at the dinner table. 

Betty stared emotionless at the Rumordale.com webpage. “Ethel, obviously.” She replied. Her eyes glanced over the title again: _‘Riverdale High students who released underage sex tape may have been creating pornographic videos in the school’s newspaper office’._ The article went in to explicit detail about the sex tape posted online, and speculated that the two people involved could have been fooling around inside the school. It called for Mr Honey to investigate any sexual miscreant behaviour that could have been happening on school grounds. 

It also mentioned that the underage teenage girl in the videos was rumoured to be pregnant.

“This website is nothing but speculative garbage.” Alice said firmly as she read Betty’s phone screen over her shoulder.

Betty frowned. “And me and Jughead haven’t even hooked up in the Blue and Gold… not since Junior Year, anyway.”

“TMI, Betty.” Jellybean groaned and covered her ears.

“They did get one thing right though… you _are_ pregnant…” Jughead said, and his frustration almost reached boiling point.

_We held it together for another week._

_FP borrowed a side car for the bike, and he and Jellybean set off on a road trip up to Toledo. Jellybean secretly assured me she wasn’t going to accept our grandparents custody dispute, and I gently reminded her not to do anything too crazy while she was up there._

_I kept working with Charles. Betty kept working two waitressing jobs. The looks and jeers got worse, and Betty knew it wasn’t just paranoia playing tricks in her mind whenever seedy guys and judgemental women made remarks about her promiscuity._

“Pop, how can you let trash like that work in your family-orientated establishment?” A scandalised mother asked loudly when Betty was wiping down tables. 

Betty had to hold her tongue and remind herself that those sort of people weren’t worth her energy. 

_I started using the Combi to make UberEats deliveries, much to Kevin’s delight._

“Oh thank _God_ it’s you, Jughead.” Kevin had said as Jughead arrived at the Keller’s front door. “Sushi just doesn’t have _quite_ the same texture when it gets delivered by your ex.” 

Jughead left the Kellers’ house wondering why Fangs was even still working for UberEats if he had a new job as a Sheriff’s deputy. 

Then again, maybe his fellow Serpents’ lives were just as messy as his own. 

_Life wasn’t running smoothly, but the promise of leaving Riverdale for college gave both me and Betty hope that, at the very least, things might get better._

…… 

_The Watcher released another round of surveillance video tapes._

_These ones were so close to the houses that you could see the people walking around inside through the windows._

_In our home’s video (that Betty found on the doorstep) you could see through our living room window so far that even part of the kitchen was visible. Everyone in the family made an appearance in that tape - all of us casually going about our days._

_Oblivious to the fact that The Watcher was possibly only meters away from our front door…_

_Sheriff Keller released a plea via RIVW that all residents ensure their houses were locked at all times._

_Charles mused that he hoped The Watcher would never get inside…_

…… 

More days passed. 

Jughead had already dropped Betty off at the Hoe Zone, so to kill time he trailed into Pop’s. He sat in a booth with a coffee and his laptop and tried to work on some writing - he still managed to write every day, but the quantity and quality was lacking thanks to his FBI job. 

Fangs came in with Jinx, both dressed in their blue deputy uniforms with stressed expressions on both their faces. They talked Jughead into abandoning his evening plans and trailed downstairs into La Bonne Nuit for mocktails. 

“Is Veronica back home yet?” Fangs pondered as they found a table. “I think I need my mocktail to be a little less _mock_ and a little more _tail._ But I don’t think her new bartender is too keen on underage drinking.”

Jughead looked over to the bar, and noted Peaches chewing gum and mixing a drink as she eyed a group of teenage boys who were messing around in a corner booth. “Peaches is a friend of Toni’s… she’s not a fan of Serpents though so she probably won’t give any of your drinks the _kick_ you’re looking for.”

“Great…” Fangs grumbled, and his head fell into his hands as he leaned forward on the table.

Jinx, who Jughead usually didn’t have too much to do with aside from Serpent business, clapped Fangs on the back. “Today was rough, man.”

Jughead felt bad for the guys, who both looked worn out. “No luck with finding those missing girls, I take it?”

Fangs sighed and sat up straighter. “It’s like they’ve just vanished. We’ve been looking into a possible connection between the Ghoulies and prostitution on the South Side, thanks to _your_ tip about Tricia London, actually…”

Jinx joined in. “We _think_ they’re operating out of the old Whyte Wyrm, but still… no sign of Tricia _or_ any of the other girls.” He scratched the top of his head, his short brown hair rustled with the movement.

“Chuck Clayton was down at the station _again_ today - he’s unhinged, that one.” Fangs said as he stared, unseeing, at the rest of the bar. “He’s obsessed with finding his little sister, but he’s just…” Fangs sighed and looked back at Jughead. “He has moderate traumatic brain injury… the Ghoulies really did a number on him.”

“Jeez…” Jughead replied. He’d punched Chuck Clayton in the face once (a highlight of his young life), and could honestly say he’d probably never had a positive thought about the man… but Chuck’s little sister had been abducted right in front of him. He’d been beaten within an inch of his life. Jughead wasn’t his biggest fan, but he found himself feeling bad for Chuck. 

“That’s not the worst part.” Fangs said, an angry kind of expression on his face. “Chuck found out what was in Lia Sheridan’s autopsy, and now he’s in full panic mode. I can’t blame him, really. If it was _my_ sister the Ghoulies took, I’d be tearing apart the whole town trying to find her…”

“What happened to Lia?” Jughead asked, a morbid and sick desire for answers overcoming him.

“You sure you want to know? It’s pretty messed up…”

Jughead paused for a moment and considered the fact that ignorance is bliss. Then the memory of Betty’s near-abduction sprang to mind. “I need to know… those guys almost got to Betty, Fangs… I _have_ to know.” 

“Well, what killed her was an overdose…” Fangs said, and Jughead noted that Jinx had paled a little beside him. “But they think she was tortured before she died… and, well… she’s been missing, what, three months?” Fangs swallowed. “She was about five weeks pregnant… I’m sure you can fill in the gaps.”

Jughead _could_ fill the gaps in himself. Fangs didn’t need to say the words. Jughead felt sick. Jinx frowned, and then excused himself to go to the bathroom. He swayed a little on his feet before he beelined to the other side of the bar. 

The gruesome conversation went stale and Jughead and Fangs trailed off into an uncomfortable silence. 

Jughead desperately wanted to change the topic. “Hey, how come you’re still working for UberEats?” He asked curiously in an attempt to shake off the dark thoughts plaguing him. _If the Ghoulies had taken Betty…_

He shut down the possibility.

Fangs looked down sadly. “My mom… her cancer came back.” He absentmindedly played with the pages of the drinks menu. “Her treatments are expensive. I’m just trying to keep my family from going completely broke while we get her back into remission.”

“Fuck, Fangs… why didn’t you say anything?”

“It’s my problem to deal with, Jones.” Fangs said, his lips drawing together. “She’s my Mom. I have to help her however I can. If it means working two jobs, then so be it.”

Jughead nodded. “Yeah, you gotta do whatever you can for your family. I get _that_.”

Fangs nodded, and a look of curiosity came over his face. “So… _Rumordale_ made some claims.”

Nerves built up in Jughead’s heart. “Yeah, that they did.” He said dismissively.

“Any of them true?” Fangs asked. He raised his eyebrows in anticipation.

Jughead crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, we didn’t make any pornos in the Blue and Gold office. That part wasn’t true… it did get _one_ detail right, though.” He gave Fangs a pointed look.

Fangs nodded, and Jughead could tell he was reading between the lines. “Well… congrats? I think?” 

Jughead smirked. “Thanks… _I think.”_

……. 

Sweet Pea eventually joined them, and the evening was overall a fun time with friends for Jughead, something he appreciated. It was much later when Jughead decided to leave the boys to their own devices. 

He waved to the waitresses still working at Pop’s as he left, and made his way out into the cool night air. There weren’t many other cars left parked in the parking lot, so Jughead’s Combi stood out amongst the other vehicles. 

He started to walk closer, but the hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he realised there was someone leaning against the car next to his. Strangely, it was almost as though he was waiting for Jughead to walk past. 

Jughead reached into his pocket and took out his switchblade, but he left it closed and held it tightly as he approached his Combi. No one else was around, but that didn’t make Jughead any less on edge. As he got closer, he noted the man was staring at him. 

“Can I help you with something?” Jughead asked firmly, and tightened his grip on his switchblade. 

The man pushed himself off the car and took a few steps towards Jughead. “You’re Jughead Jones.” He stated, eyeing him with glee.

Jughead studied him. He had slicked-back brown hair, and looked several years older than Jughead, but despite his height the man appeared scrawny. Jughead liked his chances against him if things got… physical. “Depends who's asking.” Jughead said cryptically.

The man smiled and reached out his hand. “I’m Terry. I am… well, I _was…_ an associate of Kevin Keller. I believe you know him?”

Jughead tried to keep the surprise off his face as he took Terry’s hand. “Okay…” Jughead said slowly.

Terry released Jughead’s hand and placed both of his inside the pockets of his trench coat. “I was hoping I could discuss a potential job opportunity.” He cocked his head to the side. “I understand you’re leaving Riverdale soon for college?” He asked.

Jughead nodded, again remaining cautious. _Exactly what kind of associate of Kevin’s is this guy?_ He wondered.

“Well,” Terry said, “this job isn’t _location specific._ So you could work from home, college, your vintage van - it doesn’t matter. If you can produce results, then that’s all I care about.” There was mirth in his eyes as he smirked. “And you would be pulling in four to five figures a week at the _minimum._ Plenty of money to look after yourself, your pretty girlfriend, and any _other_ little people that might be coming along…” he raised his eyebrows and gave Jughead a piercing look.

_Well, that settles it. People believe the Rumordale article,_ Jughead thought solemnly _._ “What exactly does this _job_ entail?” Jughead asked, more out of curiosity than an actual desire to start working for this man. There was decidedly something _off_ about Terry.

“Only what you’ve already been doing.” Terry said nonchalantly. “I’m merely offering you an opportunity to profit off of it. _Properly._ You’re not charging _nearly_ enough.”

“Um… I’m sorry, you’re going to have to give me context.” Jughead took a step back, dread formulating in his stomach. 

“Oh, there’s no need to play coy with _me,_ Jughead. I’ve been in this business for a while. I’ve seen it _all.”_ He let out a short laugh. “Your girlfriend… _Betty,_ isn’t it? She has…” he whistled, sounding impressed. “An _amazing_ laugh. You’re really able to draw the most attractive sounds out of those beautiful lips of hers…”

Jughead instantly felt cold all over. “You’re talking about our sex tape.”

“Of _course_ I am. Everyone in Riverdale is.” His eyes were wide with awe. “You two look _great_ on camera. Sure, you have extremely amateur camera angles, but those sorts of technical details can be taught. I’d like to teach you a _lot_ more, if you’ll let me. Together, we could make _thousands_ off of your sex tapes with your blonde cheerleader.”

Anger started to burn away the cold darkness inside Jughead. “Me and Betty… our sex life isn’t for _sale.”_ His fist clenched around the switchblade.

Terry lifted his hands in surrender. “I’m not trying to offend you with this offer. Hear me out.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I recently lost two of my highest paid employees - Kevin was one of them. Their popularity in the tickling community is almost unmatched, and I haven’t been able to find suitable replacements. But my other tickling videos, well… they’re starting to lose audience engagement. People in the market are much more interested in hardcore videos, closer in essence to the ones you’ve made.” He sighed. “Listen, I’m running the risk of losing my business, _my livelihood,_ thanks to your friend. But if I can monopolise a mutually beneficial arrangement with you and Betty, then _I_ can keep my business afloat and _you_ can keep yourself and your baby momma from repeating the endless cycle of poverty that plagues South Siders.”

Jughead had to take several calming breaths before he responded. “Let me make myself clear, Terry. Me and Betty are not interested in making any kind of pornographic films. Any you’ve seen weren’t made by us, so you’re propositioning the wrong person.” 

Jughead turned away and moved to unlock the Combi door, but Terry hurried to stand at his side. “Come on, Jughead. You’re making a mistake here. I’ve seen _all_ your videos, old and new… but if you’re not interested in making any more, then that’s fine. Betty can still be one of my new performers. There’s plenty of men - _and_ some women - who’d love the opportunity to break into the pregnancy porn genre of the niche video market—”

Whatever else Terry had to say was cut off as Jughead abruptly shoved him up against the Combi door. “Don’t you _dare_ go anywhere _near_ Betty.” He flipped open his switchblade and held it up against Terry’s throat. “You don’t talk to her. You don’t look at her. You don’t even breathe the same _air_ as her. Because if you _do,”_ Jughead pressed the blade further against Terry’s throat and the man flinched, his eyes going wide, “well, let’s just say you won’t have to worry about your declining business ventures any more.”

…… 

For the first time since she started working at the Hoe Zone, Betty left the club feeling less than thrilled with her evening. She was exhausted, both physically and emotionally, and wasn’t looking forward to telling Jughead _why._

One of FP’s Serpent friends, Dog Ear (who was bulked up and intimidating despite his advancing age), escorted her out to the Combi once she’d spotted Jughead sitting in the driver’s seat. Dog Ear was one of her favourites of Elio’s new security guards, due to his cheerful and jokey personality - but tonight, Dog Ear wasn’t in the mood for friendliness, and a determined scowl cemented into his features.

“Hey, Betts, you have no idea how glad I am to see you—” Jughead abruptly paused as he looked up at Betty. “What happened?” He asked, concern evident in his voice as he watched her climb up onto the van’s bench seat. 

Before Betty could reply, Dog Ear was knocking on Jughead’s window. Jughead rolled the window down, and Dog Ear nodded at him. “FP Junior,” he started, and Jughead tried not to cringe as he heard the childhood nickname FP’s Serpent friends sometimes still called him, “there was some trouble tonight, and we handled it. But if you want to take it further, by all means, I’ll get some of my guys together…”

Not for the first time that night, a chill settled in Jughead’s bones. 

“It’s okay, Dog Ear.” Betty piped up from the seat beside him. Jughead didn’t miss that her voice was shaking. “I’ll explain everything to Jug. Thank you for all your help.” 

Dog Ear gave Betty a slow nod, then looked at Jughead. “You be extra nice to your girl tonight, Jones.” He said, then turned and headed back towards the Hoe Zone, his dark jacket making him almost invisible in the dim lighting.

Jughead’s heart was racing fast as he reached out to take Betty’s hand. “What’s wrong? Did somebody hurt you?” 

Betty shook her head and pulled the belt tighter on her coat. “Can you please just drive us home? I don’t want to talk about it yet.” 

Worry filled his mind. “Yeah, of course.” He said quietly. 

His one regret as he drove was that the gear stick prevented him from being able to keep his hand in Betty’s.

It was late when they arrived home and silently walked upstairs. Their parents had long gone to bed, and the house was still and quiet as Jughead and Betty trudged through their bedroom door. Betty wrapped her arms around Jughead for a moment, and laid her head on his chest. He rested his cheek on the top of her head and returned her hug.

“You okay?” He asked quietly. 

Betty nodded. “I just feel… gross.” She unwrapped herself from his hold. “I need to shower.”

“Betty, it’s two AM.” Jughead said, confused. But Betty continued on into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. Jughead could only sigh as he changed out of his clothes, and tried not to stew on the possibilities… 

He had just started dozing off when he felt the mattress shifting beside him. His eyes opened slowly, and he saw Betty getting into bed with him. Her hair was damp, and she wore only his discarded shirt over her warm body. He instinctively pulled her into his arms, her back pressed up against his chest. 

“Tonight, I was feeling kind of off.” Betty said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. “I was back and forth to the bathroom, throwing up.” She paused, and breathed in a shaky breath. “This guy… he was in his thirties, I think. He saw me going into the bathroom and followed me…”

Jughead’s heart thumped hard in his chest. “Did he… _hurt_ you?” He held his breath while he waited for an answer. 

Betty shook her head. “He _tried_ to… he cornered me, started grabbing at me, and I just _froze_ … he told me he liked my videos and wanted to know if I’d give him a live show.” 

Jughead’s grip on her tightened. “Betty…” 

“I don’t want you to do anything.” She said quickly. “One of the other waitresses came looking for me, and when she saw us in there she started freaking out. Dog Ear happened to be walking past the bathroom door… he came in and saw the guy in there and put two and two together. He knocked him out in one punch and dragged him outside.” 

Jughead’s arms flexed around her. “Betty, I can’t just do _nothing.”_

“Dog Ear took care of it.” Betty sniffled. “Elio permanently banned the guy from the club. Now… I don’t want you to go after this guy and get in trouble… nothing actually happened to me, Jug.” She wiggled back to get closer to him and covered his arms with her own. “I just want to forget about it. Just… hold me.”

Jughead wanted to argue, and ask her: _exactly_ where did this creep grab her? Did he _touch_ her? What was his name, what did he look like; he wanted to ask her _anything_ to get more information. But Betty was clearly shaken up, and if she didn’t want Jughead to get more involved, and only wanted him to be there for her… then he needed to respect that. Even if it _did_ keep him awake for hours, wondering what could have happened if Dog Ear wasn’t there… 

……

The next morning didn’t start out _terribly._

After a slow and sensual make-out session that left them both feeling hot and bothered (but not _stressed,_ which was the important thing) and didn’t last nearly long enough, Jughead mournfully rose for work, and Betty vowed she was staying in bed until her shift at Pop’s started. Jughead doubted she’d follow through with it, and as he left the bathroom he noted she was already sitting up with her rose gold MacBook, probably preparing for college. He gave her a kiss goodbye, which she returned enthusiastically, and Jughead left the house feeling marginally less worried about her than he had felt the night before.

Just before One PM, Charles expressed a desire for Pop’s, so he and Jughead left the station and set out to find a booth in the diner. They received their milkshakes almost instantly despite how busy the diner was, and when the waitress returned to take their lunch orders, both men ordered burgers. 

“We’re kindred spirits, Chuck.” Jughead mused when Charles asked the waitress for fries _and_ onion rings on the side.

Charles smirked and raised an eyebrow. “ _Everything_ is about food with you, isn’t it?”

Jughead shrugged, and sipped on his milkshake. “Gotta start eating for two, as they say.” He winked.

Charles snorted. “Oh, here I was thinking it was _Betty_ who was pregnant. I didn’t realise you were part seahorse.”

Jughead choked on his milkshake. He coughed and cleared his throat, then stated: “Sometimes I think you’re a normal dude, Chuck. And then you say things like _that.”_

Charles rolled his eyes. “I’m _far_ from normal.” He picked his spoon up and took a scoop of whipped cream from the top of his strawberry shake. “This would be better with chocolate powder.”

Jughead breathed a laugh, then became distracted as he felt his phone buzzing in his pocket. He pulled it out and his eyebrows rose when he saw who had texted him.

“Not that I’m trying to pry into your personal messages, but what’s with that look?” Charles asked curiously.

Jughead’s eyebrows furrowed. “Guy from school. _Moose,_ his name is. I haven’t heard from him in… _months,_ to be honest.” Jughead opened the message, and his confusion grew. “Listen to this: _thanks for the concern bro, but I can find my own porn lol.”_ Jughead looked up at Charles. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

Charles cocked his head to the side. “The great thing about iMessage is that you can send him one back.” He mused, a smirk on his face.

“Oh hey, he messaged me again: _How are you doing? I heard what happened at Stonewall._ Jeez, he’s a bit behind on the local gossip.” Jughead said, his eyes glued to the message screen.

“Moose… isn’t that one of the guys Betty interviewed when she was trying to find out information about the Quill and Skull?” Charles asked, an uncomfortable look on his face. “I remember her telling me Brett made a sex tape of him and another student… that was _Moose,_ wasn’t it?”

“Yeah…” Jughead said. He shivered, and decided to just bite the bullet and give Moose a call. “Excuse me for a minute, Chuck. I’ll be right back.”

He walked towards the bathroom, and as he rounded the corner and almost crashed into one of the waitresses. “Whoa, my bad - _Betty?”_

Betty stumbled back for a moment then looked up at him. “Hey stranger. Have you been here long?”

“Like… fifteen minutes, maybe. Me and Charles are on our lunch break.” 

Betty smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Great, that means I was in there longer than I thought.” She sighed and readjusted her askew apron. 

Jughead became distracted by his earlier mission as he noted the sullen expression on her face. “Are you sick again?”

Betty looked down. “I’ve been… a little off the past couple days.” She reached out and put her hand on his arm. “Nothing hospital worthy yet, though. I promise I won’t let myself get that bad again, okay? I’ll tell you if I’m _that_ sick.” 

Jughead tried not to stew on his own stress. “Okay… but still, maybe you should go home and rest…” 

“Jug,” she said, a note of warning in her voice, “I can manage it myself. Hyperemesis Gravidarum doesn’t just go away, I’m stuck with it until the baby’s born. That means I’m going to be _sick_ until the baby’s born.” She sighed heavily. “I can’t just stop moving and wallow in self pity.” 

Jughead didn’t think it was self pity, and he told Betty as much. “I’m not trying to boss you around, I just worry… I hate seeing you sick.”

Betty placed her free hand on Jughead’s other arm. “I know… but I’m _fine._ When I’m _not_ fine, which realistically might be the case again soon… _then_ I won’t be _able_ to work. But I am okay enough to keep working _now,_ so that’s what I’ll do. We’re partners in this money-making plan, okay? We’ve both got to keep going while we still can. I don’t want to put all the pressure to provide on your shoulders.”

Jughead felt like continuing the conversation, but he could tell Betty was in no arguing mood so he just nodded and pulled her into a quick hug. “Just… keep me updated with your health, okay? You really scared me last time…”

She nodded against his chest. “I will.”

When Jughead was finally alone in the bathroom, he locked the door and pulled his phone back out to call Moose. 

Moose answered on the second ring. “Jughead! Long time, dude.”

Jughead smiled at the familiar voice. _“Too long,_ by the sounds of it. How’s the army training been?” 

“Not bad. I love it, to be honest with you Jug. I get deployed soon, not sure where it’ll be, but I’m looking forward to it.” Moose’s calm enthusiasm for the future was refreshing. “Sorry I didn’t reach out earlier. I only just got my phone back; I left it at my aunt’s a few months back so I’d have no distractions while I trained.” Moose let out a humourless laugh. “I’ve heard some crazy things since I’ve been back home, though.”

Jughead grimaced. “I bet.” The burning curiosity over Moose’s original text couldn’t be ignored. “So… what was that you messaged me about finding your own porn?”

“Ahh… that link you sent me on facebook?” When Jughead didn’t reply, Moose continued. “Ha! I had a feeling you were hacked or something.” He said cheerfully. “You must’ve clicked some bogus link. You sent some link to a porn site but when I tapped it the video had been deleted.” Moose laughed. “Honestly, I thought you were just tryna help a bro out. Can get lonely on the army base, I won’t lie to you.”

“Yeah…” Jughead said weakly.

It was at that moment that it occurred to him - he’d never checked his Facebook account for clues.

Months back, when the first sex tape was exposed, he’d been so distracted by his near-arrest, and Betty’s pregnancy, and the locker images, and graduation, and Prom, and _more sex tapes_ emerging… he’d never realised that he might have had an actual _written log_ of when the original tape had been shared. How many times had he heard his friends mention that they’d received Facebook links to the sex tape apparently uploaded by _JugheadJones2001_?

This was a lead that needed immediate investigation.

“...honestly glad you sound okay, Jughead. When Donna told me about Brett attacking you - I mean, don’t get me wrong, I always knew he was a creep, but I never would have pegged him to be an actual murderer.” Moose continued.

Jughead’s mind froze. “I’m sorry… did you just say Donna?”

“Yeah… you know Donna right? My girlfriend? She told me last night about how Brett conspired against you - honestly, I didn’t quite understand the finer details, but it sounds rough, man…”

Jughead’s heart raced as he continued to listen to Moose’s - no, _Donna’s_ version of the events that led to his attempted murder. By _Brett,_ apparently. Brett, who’d ‘acted alone’ but was heavily influenced by Mr DuPont. _Brett,_ who was allegedly so determined to win the Baxter Brother’s contract that he’d chosen to attempt murdering Jughead. _Brett,_ who was in jail because of this very same murder attempt… 

“Moose… I think Donna might’ve given you some misleading information about that night…” Jughead said, his mind spiralling into an overload. “Wait, did you just call her your _girlfriend?!”_

“Yeah, we’ve been going on almost a year now! She’s the _best,_ Jones, let me tell you. Sweetest girl I’ve ever known.” Moose said casually, as though the fact that he was _in a relationship_ with the most sociopathic girl to walk the planet was just another regular, normal, unproblematic fact. “But hey, maybe we can catch up soon and talk about it all? I have to go meet up with Donna now but I’ll be in touch! Wouldn’t mind touching base with Kevin while I’m in town, too…” 

…… 

  
  


“And the plot thickens.” Betty mused as she added details about Donna and Moose to her notebook. 

“I was honestly in _shock_ Betty.” Jughead said as he paced around their bedroom. “I mean, she outright told me that she’d kept in touch with him when he joined the army. But… _this?_ A _relationship?_ Surely Moose can see what a psycho she is.” 

Betty tapped her pen against her lips. “If I recall, _you_ thought she was a nice, friendly girl who was on your side until you realised what a manipulative liar she is.” Jughead paced closer to the desk Betty was seated at, and she reached out to take his hand. “Hey, Moose has been training in the army the last year. It sounds like he didn’t really keep up with the news in Riverdale… it almost makes _sense_ that he has no idea what she’s capable of. And let’s not forget that Moose has been through the ringer the last couple years… I mean, didn’t he spend time at Shady Grove after that whole mess with his dad?”

“Yes. He did.” Jughead sighed and rubbed circles into the skin of Betty’s hand. “I just hate the idea that Donna could be taking advantage of him. The thought of them being together just freaks me the hell out.”

“We can set him straight when he comes to visit Riverdale, okay?” Betty said optimistically. “And if he doesn’t believe _us…_ maybe he’ll believe Kevin.” 

Jughead nodded slowly, then looked up and noted his laptop sitting atop the desk. “Wait, there’s something else I was thinking about earlier that I need to see. I’m kind of ashamed to admit that I didn’t realise it before.” He moved closer to Betty’s side and leaned over the desk and opened his laptop. He searched for facebook and tried to recall his login details.

Betty stared up at him curiously. “What is it?”

“Moose mentioned that I sent him a link to a porn vid, but obviously that wasn’t me.” He successfully logged in and tried to load the messenger page. “Whoever used my old laptop to upload the video must’ve hacked into my facebook account to spread the video around. But, I’m wondering if there might be some kind of lead… here we go.” He scrolled down through his recent messages.

Betty leaned in closer to the screen. “Jeez, Cheryl was _angry_ with you.”

Jughead clicked on her messages. _What the hell is wrong with you? How could you do this to Betty? You’d better sleep with one eye open from now on because the second you close your eyes I’ll be waiting to slit your throat,_ Cheryl had written. “Jeez… you’re not wrong.”

“Wait, but… it looks like you _didn’t_ send her a link to that video.” Betty stated. 

Jughead scrolled up through the minimal messages between them - mostly related to the twins, a few asking if he knew where Betty was - but other than the scathing message she’d sent him just before lunch the day after the first sex tape was uploaded, there wasn’t anything suspicious.

“Try Archie.” Jughead suggested, and Betty took over the control of the MacBook while Jughead stood back and observed.

“He’s messaged you some things recently… mostly just random memes. There’s one here from a few weeks ago checking if you’re going to Cheryl’s birthday - and he’s followed it up with _‘never mind I forgot you don’t check facebook’._ But no links to any pornographic sites that I can see.” Betty said, confusion drowning her voice.

“Okay…” Jughead brushed his thumb over his chin. “What about… Sweet Pea?”

Betty scrolled through his messages with Sweet Pea. “Same as Archie. Occasional meme, but no porn.”

“Hmm…” Jughead said. “So… who _did_ get the video link then?”

As they scrolled through Jughead’s months-old messages, the answer became clear. 

Not a single one of Jughead’s friends or family had received the link to their sex tape. 

“But… how did they all know about it then?” Jughead asked, confusion running through his mind. 

Betty looked away from the computer and up at Jughead. “Word gets around…” She turned back to the screen thoughtfully. “Everyone was talking about the video at school. It would have only taken one of our friends to overhear about it before they’d all know.”

“Kevin told me he and Josie scrubbed through the video.” Jughead recalled, thinking of a conversation he’d had with Kevin in the school hallway. “But he didn’t say _when.”_

“Okay…” Betty paused. “I could just ask him, but I feel like it’s unnecessary. One of them probably saw the video and then showed the other. Then they would have brought it to the attention of our other friends - assuming they didn’t already know about it. It was lunchtime when they were all mad at you right?” Betty started twisting Jughead’s ring around her finger. “I left just before the end of class to take the pregnancy tests in the bathroom…” A questioning expression covered Betty’s face. “Kevin could have heard about it from some boys in the locker room? I think he had gym while I had biology…” 

“Okay… let’s try…” Jughead tried to recall some of the jocks’ names. “Literally anyone on _any_ sports team from my friends list.” He suggested, thinking of all the claps on the back he’d received from the Varsity Bulldogs during his last two weeks of school.

Betty typed in the name of a boy from the basketball team - _Eddie Turner._ “Bingo. Look at this.” Betty pointed to a message sent to Eddie, apparently from Jughead: _Check out my video, it’ll be worth your time;_ a link to the porn website was below it. It was sent at 6:13PM the night the video was uploaded. Eddie had replied with: _Yo, this shit better not be a virus._ That message was followed up with: _Holy shit, Jones. Didn’t know you had it in you._ And then: _How do you make her scream like that?_

Jughead frowned. “That’s literally our entire conversation.” He stated, noting that previous to the porn site, Jughead had never messaged Eddie.

“Yeah.” Betty nodded and typed ‘Marmaduke Mason’ into the messenger search bar. There were several more messages in their chat, mostly relating to classes at Stonewall, and indeed, the exact same message to Eddie and the companion porn link was sent. Moose hadn’t replied, but the timestamp from earlier that day, ‘Read at 1:12PM’ was floating beneath the link. It checked out, since Moose had texted Jughead not long after that.

Over the next half hour, they tried searching the chat records of several more Riverdale High students who weren’t actually friends with Jughead. Most of them had received the link to the first sex tape, and Jughead knew that he and Betty had come to the same conclusion.

Betty wrote their findings in her notebook. “Whoever uploaded this video knew what they were doing.” She said, and closed Jughead’s laptop. “Aside from Moose, none of the people you associate with saw this video until the next day. They knew _exactly_ who _not_ to send it to, because any one of your friends would have at least _mentioned_ it to one of us the second they realised what it was.”

“So that means this person knew enough about _me_ to have carefully selected who to send the link to.” Jughead felt nervous anticipation brewing. “They knew how to make the video go viral in Riverdale without alerting anyone who could interfere. And they did it _fast,_ because all of the links we’ve seen were sent to our fellow students within twenty minutes of it going live.” 

Betty nodded. _“And,_ the person who spread the video using _your_ facebook account must’ve known Moose wouldn’t see it right away.” Her eyebrows rose and her eyes widened. “Which leads me to believe, with almost absolute certainty…”

“That it was Donna.” Jughead said with finality. “But, Charles told me she had an alibi…”

“She probably _lied_ to the FBI Jug.” Betty huffed in frustration. “As with everything else she does, she’s made sure none of the evidence can point back to _her._ I’m _positive_ that she used your old laptop to upload the video _and_ spread it on facebook like a social media disease. But all of our speculation wouldn’t hold up in court, because even without her alibi this is all just circumstantial.” She folded her arms across her chest. “And now, both of _us_ are under investigation for _her_ crime, so if we accuse her of uploading the sex tape it’ll just make us look like we’re pointing fingers to take the heat off of our own backs.”

Jughead groaned. “She’s going to get away with this.” 

Betty’s eyes tightened. “Maybe… but no-one’s perfect, Juggie. She’s bound to slip up eventually. And when she _does,”_ determination etched itself onto Betty’s face, “we’ll be ready for it.”

…… 

“Your brother told me something interesting, boy.” FP announced at the breakfast table. A grim expression made its way onto Alice’s face from her seat across from him.

Jughead looked up from his plate of eggs. “It astounds me that you two spend so much of your time gossiping with Charles.” 

FP blushed a little in response, but Alice merely shrugged. She took a sip of her coffee then proceeded to back FP up. “Charles had a strange feeling that there’s some kind of video in our house the two of you need to get rid of.” She raised her eyebrows and gave Jughead a pointed look.

Jughead groaned and put his head in his hands. “We will… we just need to watch it first to check for some kind of clue as to who filmed it.”

FP determinedly stared at his own coffee mug. “Well, you’ll have the house to yourselves until tomorrow morning. Better get to it. Then get _rid_ of it, or at least give it to Charles. But don’t leave it in the house.” 

Betty perked up from next to her mother curiously. “Where will _you_ be?” 

Alice waved dismissively. “I’m going with FP to pick up Jellybean.” She stated.

“No offence Alice, but I thought my grandparents didn’t like you…” Jughead’s eyebrows furrowed. “Won’t they get annoyed if they see you two together?”

Alice smirked, and FP lifted his coffee mug up towards his face. “Oh, I’m counting on it.” He said, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

……

  
  


After she spent the majority of her day holed up in her room and running back and forth to the bathroom, Betty decided to do the smart, _healthy_ thing and call in sick to work that night. Elio hadn’t minded too much, but had heavily hinted that he hoped she’d be feeling better by the next day - they were expecting _three_ bachelor parties to come in, and Elio wanted all hands on deck. 

When Jughead got home from work, Betty was waiting for him in the kitchen, the tape that was labelled _Level Five Quest: Capture the Serpent_ sitting ominously in front of her. Jughead sighed and picked it up, and tried not to overthink the fact that he was about to place a sex tape from when he was sixteen into their family’s TV video player.

Betty double checked all the curtains were drawn before Jughead turned on the TV. As the tape started and Betty and Jughead both sat nervously on their coffee table to view the recording, they quickly came to realise that this sex tape wasn’t going to be sexy, or thrilling, or naughty. 

If anything, the beginning seemed incredibly creepy. Jughead fast forwarded through a lot of the footage, which seemed to be almost half an hour’s worth of someone watching the old Jones trailer. Eventually, sixteen year old Jughead emerged, and they watched as he said something to one of the Serpents loitering around the fire pit. 

The footage continued to follow Jughead from a distance - whoever was holding the camera clearly didn’t want to be seen - and it was obvious that the voyeur was using other trailers, and eventually the trees and bushes in the forest to avoid Jughead’s detection. 

Jughead paused the video when Betty appeared on the TV screen. “Do you want to watch this part?”

Betty just slid her hand into Jughead’s and squeezed.

Jughead nodded and hit the play button.

It was kind of bizarre, seeing their sixteen year old selves flirting with each other at Lover’s Lane on the screen. Jughead was clearly still filled with the self-confidence being the ‘Serpent King’ had given him over the Summer before Junior Year. Betty was slowly batting her eyelashes at him, then twisting her ponytail around her fingers, fiddling with her blue cheerleader mini-skirt, and pulling on his leather jacket, _clearly_ trying to get a reaction out of him.

And it seemed to be working well, as it wasn’t long before TV-screen Jughead was lifting TV-screen Betty up onto the hood of her vintage station wagon. He stood between her thighs as they started to make out, and the voyeur adjusted the camera several times to try and film around the bush they were hiding behind.

Present-day Betty made a noise halfway between a laugh and a groan.

“What’s so funny?” Jughead asked her, not bothering to pause the video tape as he turned to look at her. 

Betty shook her head. “Oh, nothing… It's just _so_ cringey seeing us like this… just, saying and doing things we _thought_ were sexy to try and turn each other on because we were still _learning_ what turned each other on.” She let out a laugh. “We were both trying so hard, but we were really just _awkward_ because we had no idea what we were doing. But we _thought_ we did, which is kind of funny.”

In spite of his stress, Jughead smirked. “You saying I had no game back then, Cooper?” 

Betty laughed. “Plenty of _game,_ for sure, Juggie. But maybe none of the _refined skills_ you have now.” 

Jughead rolled his eyes and nudged his shoulder against hers. When he focused back on the screen, TV-Betty was now kneeling on the forest floor in front of TV-Jughead, who appeared to be leaning against the hood of her car. 

Present-day Jughead felt the urge to cringe, but shook the feeling away. He couldn’t let himself get embarrassed about his sex life with Betty _with Betty,_ no matter how ‘unrefined’ their love-making skills may have been back then. After all, this tape was illegally made when Betty and Jughead had only started having sex six months earlier. Truthfully Jughead was surprised by how much it _didn’t_ bother him to be seeing this footage - yes, he was uncomfortable and entirely grossed out, but he wasn’t feeling that same dread and anxiety that rose it’s ugly head whenever he and Betty usually made out. 

Maybe his therapeutic ‘no sex’ rule was actually helping… 

TV-Jughead’s head tilted down to watch TV-Betty with anticipation as she unbuckled his belt. Luckily the voyeur/cameraman was watching _them_ from an angle that blocked the view of anything too revealing. _For now._

Real-life Betty and Jughead leaned closer to the screen. They both heard TV-Betty’s loaded statement: _“I heard you’ve never had a cheerleader go down on you.”_ And Jughead’s hyper-sexualised response: _“I’ve never_ gone down _on_ _a cheerleader either, Miss River Vixen. Just something for you to keep in mind for later.”_ He actually _winked_ at her before twisting one hand in her ponytail. He braced his other hand against the hood and leaned further against the car as TV-Betty made a remark about _“always wanting to taste a snake.”_

(Present-day Betty groaned in humiliation and covered her face with her hands. _Unrefined_ sex indeed.) 

A minute or so passed, and the Betty on the screen made a loud gagging noise and quickly jolted backwards. TV-Jughead’s eyes went wide in panic as he let go of her hair and said: _“Shit, sorry Betts… that was my fault… are you okay? I’m so sorry…”_ Then TV-Betty’s ponytail bounced as she quickly shook her head and replied: _“Yes! It’s fine. You’re… just_ so _big, it’s, ahh… just a_ lot _to, um, you know,_ digest. _I’m good, I promise. Maybe you can try_ pulling _my hair instead of pushing the back of my head...”_

It’s a lot to digest.

Betty paused the video. She stared at the frozen image of her _slightly_ younger self still kneeling in front of the slightly younger Jughead and processed her own words. 

“What’s wrong?” Present-day Jughead asked, his eyes now hyper focused on his rigid girlfriend.

“Jug…” Betty shook her head. “Do you remember reading Moby Dick?”

Jughead raised his eyebrows. “Yeah… but what’s that got to do with this sex tape?”

Betty’s mind was racing a million miles a minute, and she tried to get Jughead to catch up. “You know, Moby Dick… isn’t that the first book you worked with in your Writing Seminar at Stonewall?”

Jughead raised his eyebrows. “Yeah… but, I’m pretty sure most people in our grade have read that.”

“Debatable, but Juggie, didn’t Brett make a joke or a comment about Moby Dick when we first met him?”

Jughead tilted his head to the side. “It wasn’t a joke, it was a crass sexual innuendo.” One that was so blatantly obvious that at the time Jughead couldn’t help the incredulous expression that slid onto his face.

Betty was practically vibrating with energy. “Okay, okay, but do you remember exactly what he said? He asked me if I had opinions on it… right?”

Jughead adjusted his beanie. “He implied that you’d ‘have a lot to say’ about it, yeah. And that it would be _a lot to digest._ Honestly if I could turn back time I’d defend your honour with my fists over a comment so brazenly flirtatious—”

Jughead abruptly paused.

Betty searched his expression and wondered if Jughead would come to the same conclusion as she had, or if she was just reading into it way too far. He seemed to be concentrating so hard on a thought that his face was contorting into a deep-set frown. He started thinking out loud. “When we first met him, Brett called you _cute._ Like ‘girly’ cute, not ‘sexy’ cute. _Very Sweet Valley High_ were his exact words… as though you were a pure, virginal, babysitter-type good girl… why would he call you _cute_ and then make such a lewd comment? Unless…” Jughead’s breathing became shallower. “Unless he thought of you as someone _sexual._ But why would he even make that assumption before he’d taped us in bed together?”

Betty waited for Jughead to continue, the nerves almost sickening her as her thoughts raced through her mind.

_It’s a lot to digest._

That’s what Betty had said in _this_ two-year-old sex tape. And that’s what _Brett_ had said the first time he’d met Betty.

“Moby Dick” was a _lot to digest_ , Brett had said… 

Jughead took the remote out of Betty’s hands and rewound the sex tape. They watched again as Betty gagged and told Jughead: “ _it’s, ahh… just a lot to, um, you know, digest.”_

Betty let out an audible gasp and her eyes locked on Jughead’s face.

Jughead made the connection instantly. “Brett saw this tape.” Jughead said, his voice filled with an assured resolve. He turned away from the screen and stared at Betty with eyes wider than should have been humanly possible. “Brett watched this before he even met us.”

“He had to have.” Betty’s expression became grim. “There’s no way this is a coincidence.” 

Jughead and Betty knew instantly that it was true. As true as Sweetwater River froze over every winter, they knew it was _true_ that Brett had seen this video.

_But how the hell did he find it?_ Jughead thought. _Where did he get it from? Did_ he _make it? He couldn’t have, that makes no sense…_ and with a startling realisation, Jughead knew what their next move had to be. 

Betty knew it too. “Jug, we need to talk to Brett.”

…… 

  
  


They took comprehensive notes about the tape, and jotted down a play-by-play of what happened in it, then both watched as the fireplace consumed the black plastic. The tape bubbled and melted away, and Jughead put his arm around Betty while they witnessed the destruction of their underage sex tape.

“It feels good to see it burning.” Betty said, her voice coming out low.

Jughead had to agree with her. “It’s gone now… that tape can’t be used against us.” _Assuming there aren’t any copies,_ he thought. But from what Ethel had told Polly, it wasn’t likely that this particular tape existed in any other form but the hard copy they had just destroyed.

The next day Jughead called the Lodge Detention Center to find out the visiting hours, but learned that they couldn’t visit Brett just yet - he’d been in a brawl with another inmate, and was put in solitary confinement for the next week. Jughead was frustrated - they were getting _so_ close to unraveling this voyeuristic sex tape ring involving both of them, and yet every time they got close to the answer, something would block them in their tracks.

So to occupy themselves, they started listing people they _knew_ had seen the G&G tape.

“Ethel, that’s certain.” Jughead stated.

“Yes, you’ve seen proof that she had access to it in her bunker shrine.” Betty nodded. 

“And… Terry, possibly.” Jughead added, frowning as he remembered his interaction with the Tickle Porn director. “He called you my ‘blonde cheerleader’, and said that he’s seen _all_ our sex tapes. It’s reasonable to assume that the one we just destroyed could have been one of those - which leads me to believe he’s part of this Underground Film society that Ethel mentioned.” 

Betty added ‘Terry - tickle guy’ to her notebook. “I can ask Kevin for more information about him later. He might even know something about this underground video sharing thing.” Betty flicked back a few pages and scanned her notes, then sighed and returned to her extremely small list of names. “And I guess if we’re being pedantic, technically _Sweet Pea_ saw it as well.”

“True, but he’s the one who gave it to me. I’m pretty happy to clear him of any suspicion.” Jughead replied.

“So… _who_ exactly was it that gave it to Sweet Pea?” Betty mused, her eyes searching Jughead’s.

Jughead tried to recall the name of the Serpent that had found it on the doorstep of the Serpent Den. “I… don’t think he actually told me who it was.” He racked his brain, but he came up blank. “I just remember him saying that it was some Serpents from school…”

“Okay, well _that’s_ shady.” Betty’s eyes narrowed.

“I really don’t think he was intentionally hiding their names.” Jughead said in his friend’s defense. “Come on Betty, it’s _Sweet Pea._ He probably just figured I was more interested in whoever _made_ the tape than whoever _found_ it.”

Betty crossed her arms. “You know as well as I do that just because someone is friends with you, that doesn’t make them any less likely to be up to no good.”

Jughead did know that. He sighed. “Alright. I’ll work on Sweet Pea today. And then I want to find out what Toni’s found out about the AV club’s involvement with the sex tape from our bedroom.”

Betty nodded. “Awesome. Are you okay to handle that on your own? Layla wants to meet up, and I want to check how she’s been doing since… well, since the Ghoulies tried to take us…”

Jughead nodded, and gave Betty a kiss on the forehead before he stood up. “Message me if you need anything.”

Betty smiled up at him and nodded. “I’ll see you later tonight. Maybe we can keep working on refining our skills…” she gave him a heated _look._

That look sent a thrill through Jughead’s body, and he almost couldn’t wait for night to come… 

…… 

  
  


Archie was fuming as he stormed into This he Pembrooke. “Smithers.” He said to the elderly doorman. “Is Hiram in today?”

Smithers gave him a disapproving look. “I really don’t think you want to see him right now.”

Archie huffed in frustration and hurried over to the elevator. “You know what? I _hope_ he’s in a bad mood. Cause I’m going to make his day even _worse,_ and if it’s already going badly that’s just the icing on the cake.” Smithers looked alarmed as the elevator doors slid closed. 

Hermione answered the door, surprise covering her features. “Archie… I wasn’t expecting to see you today.”

Archie didn’t wait for an invitation inside. “I’m sorry Mrs Lodge, but I need to speak to your husband. _Urgently.”_ He stepped in through the door.

She merely raised her eyebrows and stated: “He’s in his study.” and Archie headed over to it.

Hiram didn’t seem shocked by Archie’s presence. “Archibald, whatever can I do for you?” His usual sneer was on his face, but he looked more worn out than usual. Probably because of this mystery disease he had.

But Archie only had one thing on his mind. “You can get your Ghouls to stop selling drugs to _children,_ for starters.”

Hiram stood up from behind his desk. “As usual, I don’t have any clue as to what you’re talking about.” He said slowly, his voice staying level.

Frustration grew in Archie’s voice. “Cut the _crap_ Hiram. I know all about the drug manufacturing in your prison.” He practically growled. “I can’t do anything to stop you, I’m sure you have it all covered up somehow anyway… but what I _can_ do is demand that you tell your gang of child predators to keep the hell away from my Community Center.”

“My prisoners make a small wage by brewing _rum,_ if that’s what you’re talking about.” Hiram said calmly. “And I don’t have any kind of connection to the Ghoulies, or any other criminal group. If you want some kind of intel into local gangs, might I suggest asking your best friend Jughead?”

Rage was brewing inside Archie. “Toby Robinson.” He said flatly.

Confusion morphed on to Hiram’s face. “Come again?”

“Toby Robinson.” Archie repeated, louder this time. “That’s the name of the kid who’s fighting for his life right now because of the drugs _you_ made using your prison slaves.” 

In an attempt to gain intel on Eddie’s missing friend Ellen Ellison, Toby had agreed to be a decoy and attempt to buy drugs from one of the Ghoulies while Eddie snooped around the House of the Dead. But the Ghoulie had forced Toby to take the drugs in front of him, to make sure he wasn’t a snitch… and Toby hadn’t realised that you can’t just swallow an entire packet of Fizzle Rocks at once on your first go. 

Eddie had practically carried Toby to the Community Center, and Archie realised immediately that he was overdosing. 

“If that kid dies,” Archie said, taking a threatening step towards Hiram, “then I swear to God, Hiram. I’m going to kill you.” Hiram merely raised his eyebrows, and the anger inside of Archie increased. “And I will be at peace with whatever the consequences of that are.”

“Like father like son, then, it would appear.” Hiram said with amusement in his voice. “Except, just like with your father, I’m certain that’s an empty threat. You don’t have the _guts_ to follow through.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Archie said forcefully. “My father was a good man. But I’m _nothing_ like him. You don’t want to test me right now, Lodge—”

The rest of Archie’s sentence was cut off. “Archie?” Asked a concerned voice from the doorway.

Archie’s head whipped around and he saw, illuminated by the apartment's bright lights, the person who haunted his dreams every night. “Ronnie… you’re back.” He choked out.

…… 

Sweet Pea was hanging out with Toni at the Serpent Den, so Jughead felt optimistic that he’d be able to kill two birds with one stone before the end of the day.

“Give me two hours, Jones. I’ll make sure all the relevant people are in attendance.” Toni assured him.

It worked out well for Jughead, because it meant he had _just_ enough time to make it to his second appointment with Ms Burble before he had to be at the Serpent Den.

She was pleased that Jughead had managed to get to a point where he could kiss and touch Betty somewhat sexually without even a _hint_ of a panic attack, and suggested he set a new goal for himself. Not actual sex - not _yet,_ anyway - but something closer. 

Jughead considered his options, and thought about his most recent panic attack after Cheryl’s birthday party. The image of Betty, straddling him as she slowly removed her slightly damp purple dress to reveal her tantalisingly lacey black bra, filled him with heat and he decided his next goal would be for them to make out in their underwear. 

He left the appointment with renewed hope.

…… 

Jellybean was glad to be back in Riverdale, but she definitely needed space. 

Her grandparents - as sweet as they had obviously tried to be (though Jellybean suspected it was only to try and sway her to move in with them permanently) - had given her way too much information about her parents and their criminal history over the almost two week period that she’d stayed with them. She didn’t _need_ to know that both of them had been busted with drugs on multiple occasions. She didn’t _want_ to know that her dad had robbed a liquor store, and a supermarket - and that he was in jail several times throughout her youth.

Jellybean didn’t think it was any of _her_ business that the Jones Yard (the place that held fond memories of her mother teaching her everything she knew about cars and their mechanics) was shut down because her mother had been caught receiving stolen goods and laundering money. It’s not like Jellybean didn’t _suspect_ that her mother was up to no good - but believing and _knowing_ for certain were very different concepts.

Even so, by the time their _hours_ and _hours_ of travelling back from Toledo were over, and Alice had made sure both Jellybean and FP were loaded up with real food and not, in Alice’s words, _“the sugar-filled crap they serve at McDonald’s”,_ Jellybean decided she needed, desperately, to clear her head.

She told her Dad she was going to visit her friend Lauren who lived a few streets away, and promised to call him when she wanted to come back home… but instead, she walked aimlessly through Riverdale with no real destination in mind.

And that was how she ended up on the South Side, at the parking lot behind the comic book store… where she discovered Ricky.

Ricky, one of her only real friends… wearing a Ghoulies jacket.

She approached him without thinking through the consequences, without thinking about _anything_ other than her own horror. “What the hell are you doing?!” She asked, shock and anger seeping into her words.

Ricky jumped in surprise as he noticed her. “JB… this isn’t what it looks like.” He said quickly, and his eyes darted around the deserted parking lot.

Jellybean crossed her arms over her chest. “What it _looks_ like is that you joined the Ghoulies!” 

“Keep your voice down!” He urged, and moved closer to her. “You need to leave. They could be watching me right now.”

“Who cares? They’re your _friends =_ , right? Your new _club.”_ She had every intention of giving him a piece of her mind, but Ricky’s haunted expression made her pause.

“I had to, JB… they’re dangerous…” he explained, and tried to turn her around and send her off back in the direction of the street. 

“Oh _please,_ you never have to join a _gang._ Especially one full of drug dealing pedos, from what I’ve heard.” 

Hurt crossed Ricky’s face, but he kept trying to walk her away from the car park. “Is that what you think of _me_ now?” 

“I don’t know what to think.” Jellybean said incredulously. “If they’re so bad, why would you want to be a part of that?”

Ricky shook his head. “I can’t explain right now… and you shouldn’t be here. I can’t be seen with _you,_ JB. Please just trust me on that.”

Jellybean stiffened her muscles and refused to move any further. “You want me to _trust_ you? You realise my family are all Serpents, right? Your gang is a direct rival… they all hate each other.”

_“Move.”_ He said firmly, but Jellybean wouldn’t budge. “Listen… my brother owes these guys money… but since he got himself killed he can’t pay any of it back, so now _I_ have to. I tried avoiding them as long as possible, I really did, you have to believe me, JB. But they kept showing up everywhere I went. I _had_ to join them…” There was sadness in his eyes. “JB, we can’t be friends anymore. I’m sorry… please just get out of here while you still can. Before someone else sees you and decides it's time to take out the only daughter of FP Jones…”

…… 

“Toni, why the hell am I here?” Lexi pouted and crossed her hands over her chest. She was seated with one of her long legs crossed over the other on a plush leather lounge in the Serpent Den.

Louis, who was standing next to her and looked nervous, ran his hands through his overgrown mop of brown hair and let out a gush of air. “Seconded. No offence, T, but if my parents find out I’m hanging out with the South Side Serpents, I’m going to be in all kinds of shit.”

“Relax, dude.” Sweet Pea said as he pushed off the wall behind Toni. “We just wanna talk. We’ve got a few more people coming… _ah,_ Termite, Weasel. Good to see you guys.” He said as Termite and Weasel walked in through the front door.

“Same.” Weasel said casually.

Termite noted the small group gathered in the Serpent Den and frowned. “What’s going on, Toni? You said this was Serpent business… Why are the AV Club here?”

Toni’s eyes scanned the gathering in front of her: she and Sweet Pea were a dominating presence, standing before the others. Aside from Louis and Lexi, she’d also called Bella, another girl from the AV club in Lexi’s year, and a boy in Sophomore year named Pat who enjoyed starting trouble with the people in his grade, but was an absolute whiz at video editing. 

Weasel and Termite sat down on the sofa next to Louis, who took a small step away from them.

Louis was the first to speak. “You guys aren’t gonna kill us or something, are you?” He said nervously.

Toni rolled her eyes. “Not if you don’t give me a reason to.” Louis cringed, but Bella, Lexi and Pat all stared at each other with wide eyes. “Oh, _calm down,_ seriously. You’re all going to leave here with your limbs attached.” 

Bella nervously pulled on the end of her long black braid. “So… _Is_ this about AV club? Why isn’t Ethel here?” 

Toni clenched her hands. “I’ve already got the information I need out of Ethel.” She said cryptically, and hoped the threatening implication would freak the AV club out enough to make them confess. “She spun _quite_ the tale about your little underground film ring.”

Termite and Weasel’s faces remained stoic, but the other teens all shifted nervously and shot accusing glances at each other.

Toni smirked and took a step closer to them all. “I see I have your attention.” She said confidently. “I’m going to ask you all some questions, and I expect the truth. Your willingness to cooperate can and _will_ affect the outcome.”

Louis gained a little of his cocky confidence back. “None of us have done anything illegal.” He crossed his arms over his chest defiantly.

Toni raised her eyebrows. “See, that’s funny, because _I_ heard that there’s a tape that went around the AV club that is classifiable as child pornography.”

Louis looked down and frowned, but it was Lexi who snorted and flicked back her brunette hair. “Oh, _please._ You mean that kinkfest sex tape of Betty Cooper and her Serpent boy toy?” 

It was, in fact, _not_ the video Toni was talking about. She noted the nervous glance Weasel gave Termite, and decided to circle back later to the video left at the Serpent Den almost three months ago. Instead, she focused on the ‘kinky’ video that Lexi mentioned. “The one that was filmed in their bedroom without their knowledge, I believe?” Lexi raised her eyebrows at Toni’s words, and Toni’s face hardened. “Screenshots of which, rumour has it, _you_ taped to Betty’s locker _and_ Mr Honey’s office door.”

Lexi bit her lip in lieu of responding, and Louis took over instead. “Yeah, we’ve all seen that. Maybe you haven’t noticed cause you’re too far up Cheryl Blossom’s ass to see anything else happening in the world, but Betty and Jughead’s sex tapes are viral right now.” 

Toni ignored the dig, and Pat piped up awkwardly. “I haven’t seen it. I couldn’t afford to…” Louis shot him a warning look and Pat quickly shut his mouth.

“Well, that answers my next question - who knows about this ‘website’ where you can apparently pay for their tapes.” Toni said, trying not to sound surprised. 

Lexi rolled her eyes. “More than just _us_ know about that site, Toni. You think we’re the only people who like watching porn?” Louis and Pat both laughed nervously, though Bella merely blushed and paid close attention to her shoes.

“Oh, there’s nothing wrong with porn, Lexi. Assuming the people _in_ the video know they’re being filmed.” Toni’s voice changed from calm, to _terrifyingly_ calm. “And here’s the thing, guys… Jughead and Betty _didn’t_ know they were being filmed. So that means that any time you’ve paid to watch - what was it you called it, Lex? - their _kinkfest sex tape,_ you were paying a voyeuristic creep who was committing a crime by making that tape.” 

“Voyeurism isn’t a crime. At worst it's a misdemeanour.” Louis said, giving Toni a disapproving look. 

“Not when you’re filming someone in their bedroom. That’s when it becomes a felony…” Weasel remarked, then flinched as Termite elbowed him.

Toni filed the two Serpents’ interaction away for later and instead locked her gaze on the other teens. “You know what? Bella, Pat, you two are free to go.” Bella and Pat gave each other a confused glance, and Toni tilted her head to the side. “I think when _Jughead_ gets here, it’s Lexi and Louis that he’ll want to interrogate.”

“What?!” Lexi said, her voice raising in mild panic for the first time. 

Fear entered Louis’ eyes. “Jughead’s coming?” He asked.

Toni smiled dangerously. “Oh yes, he’s _very_ interested in finding out more about the voyeur who filmed him and his girlfriend without their consent.” When Bella and Pat merely stared at her, she continued firmly: “And I don’t think you guys will want to be around when he arrives. He gets _really_ angry when he’s protective, and he’s _extremely_ protective of Betty.”

Bella paled and stood up immediately. “I can give you a ride home if you want, Pat.” She said quickly.

The younger boy nodded fast and wasted no time in following her out the front door.

Anger filled Louis’ eyes. “Fuck this, I’m out.” He took a few steps to follow the other teens outside, but Sweet Pea blocked his path. “Get out of my way, bro.”

“Oh, you’re not going anywhere, _bro.”_ Sweet Pea said aggressively. He towered over Louis, who took a cautious step backwards.

Louis clenched his fists and set his piercing gaze on Sweet Pea. He seemed like he was weighing up his chances in pushing past the giant gang member, then slowly made his way over to the now-empty armchair Bella had been occupying.

“Here are your options.” Toni said casually. “You two can start talking to _us,_ or you can wait until Jughead gets here. He’s more than happy to _persuade_ you both into giving us answers.”

Louis looked a little worried about that, but Lexi quickly regained her composure. “What’s he going to do? _Hit me?”_ She let out a humourless laugh. “I didn’t realise you Serpent’s were into beating up girls.”

“Jughead might be against hitting women.” Toni replied coolly. “But _I’m_ not.”

Lexi glared at Toni and folded her arms over her chest. 

“Sweet Pea.” Toni said nonchalantly. “Cheryl told me the most _fascinating_ tale recently about the girl’s locker room at school. Have I mentioned it to you?”

Sweet Pea hid his amusement behind a false look of innocence. “Why, no T, I don’t think you have?”

“Well,” Toni said, her mood turning to one of glee, “early last year, some creepy _voyeur_ hid in the girl’s locker room and took photos of Veronica changing.”

Louis went rigid and stared at Toni in horror. “Shut up.” He said, his voice shaking.

Lexi frowned and glanced at him from the side of her eyes.

“Apparently someone from Rumordale.com offered to pay him five hundred dollars to get a picture of her.” Toni turned her eyes back towards Louis. “So, Louis, my question for you is… exactly how much were you paid for making that sex tape of Betty and Jughead?”

Everyone - Lexi, Weasel and Termite included - locked their eyes on Louis’ face and waited for his response.

“Now _that,”_ said Jughead from the open front door, “is something _I’d_ like to know.” He flexed his knuckle-buster clad fingers and watched as Louis’ face morphed into an expression of pure terror. He took several determined steps towards Louis’ cowering form. “It’s something I’d like to know _very_ much.”

…… 

Betty smiled at the happy toddler sitting in Layla’s lap. “Aw, your son is even cuter in person.” 

Little Bradley inspected his red crayon with a studious expression and proceeded to scribble all over Layla’s napkin. “When he’s well rested he’s an angel, B. But give him an hour or so and he’ll be screaming down the place.” Layla said affectionately.

Betty laughed. “I don’t believe you, he’s far too sweet.” Bradley proved her point by proudly lifting up the napkin to show his mother. 

“Wow, you’re such a good artist.” Layla said with far too much enthusiasm. Bradley giggled and placed it back onto the table top, then rummaged through his pencil case to find another crayon.

Betty and Layla sat across from each other in a booth at Pop’s. It was a little strange to Betty to be eating with a friend at her own workplace, but Pop’s Chocklit Shoppe never disappointed, even when Betty could hardly stand the smells of fried chicken wafting from the kitchen.

“How are you doing, Layla?” Betty asked, trying to keep her voice light. “Have you talked to anyone about what happened?” 

Layla sighed and bounced Bradley a little on her knee. The toddler grinned in amusement as he played with the crayons he’d pulled out. “It’s been… _rough,_ to be honest. I saw a therapist once, but I’ve found that talking about it just makes me freak out more.” 

Guilt reared up in Betty. “Sorry… we don’t have to talk about it.”

“No, it’s fine.” Layla said. “Are _you_ okay?”

Betty shrugged. “I’ve been keeping myself busy.”

Layla nodded. “I feel you…” she swallowed and brushed some of Bradley’s golden curls with her fingers. “I never got to thank you, by the way. For fighting those creeps off that night…” her voice wobbled as she spoke.

“No need to thank me.” Betty said seriously. She gave Layla a tired smile. 

“No, I _do.”_ Layla said in earnest. “If you weren’t there…” she held Bradley tighter to her chest. “I can’t even think about it.”

One of the waitresses, Denise, took their orders - Layla gave Betty a confused look as she ordered two plain hot dog buns - and the friends made small talk as they waited for their food to come. Layla confirmed Betty’s fears that she wasn’t going to be returning to the Hoe Zone any time soon, and let Betty in on her plans for the future.

“Honestly, stripping saved my life. When I got out of high school I couldn’t get a job anywhere, and all the savings I wanted to use for college disappeared pretty quickly when my parents kicked me out after they found out I was pregnant.” Layla said. “It was fun while it lasted, but if ever there was a sign that I need to find a new career path, I think that almost being kidnapped is a pretty big one.”

Betty nodded sadly. “It won’t be the same working there without you.”

“It better _not_ be.” Layla joked. “I was the best damn stripper on the South Side.”

Betty laughed and agreed with her.

“Besides.” Layla continued. “I’ve already found another job.”

Betty raised her eyebrows. “Wow, really? Good for you!” She said enthusiastically. “What are you doing now?”

Layla laughed. “Um, well… have you ever heard of a guy called Reggie Mantle?”

Betty paused and stared at Layla for a moment, then groaned. “Oh, God. I think I already know what you’re going to say.” She said. “I went to school with Reggie. He’s trying to start up a niche kink video website, right?”

Layla nodded. “Honestly, I didn’t take him seriously when he gave me his card. But he has such an _interesting_ personality, and he seems really passionate about starting up his business.” She shrugged and continued. “It pays well enough, and he assured me I don’t have to show my face in any of his films. We’ve already made one video - _and please don’t laugh -_ but basically all I had to do was stand on top of this friend of his. It was kind of _great_ , really, knowing how much power I had over a man.” 

Betty tried very hard not to let the shock show on her face. “Well, as long as you’re happy…”

“I’m not, not really. But that’s not Reggie’s fault.” Said Layla sadly. “I have a kid to think of, and working for Reggie gives me the flexibility I need to raise my son. And honestly,” she shrugged, “I’m _getting_ there. I’ll be okay.”

Betty could accept that, and be happy for her friend.

She ended up coming clean to Layla about being pregnant, and the older girl had a lot of advice and stories to tell about being a teen parent. Their lunch date was enjoyable - Bradley certainly provided a lot of free entertainment to both girls - and Betty managed to lose track of the time. 

Layla was in the middle of telling Betty about some of the adorable things Bradley was prone to saying in his little toddler language, when a phone call chimed in Betty’s handbag. She pulled out her phone and noted the caller ID.

“Sorry Layla, Jughead’s sister is calling me. I have to take this.” Her lunch companion nodded, and Betty swiped open the call and held the phone up to her ear. “Hey JB. What’s up?”

“Okay, before I tell you, you have to swear not to be mad. And also, you have to swear not to tell my dad.” Was Jellybean’s response.

“Aren’t you still on your way back from Toledo?”

“Nah, been back for a few hours now.”

Betty sighed. “What did you do?”

“Nothing bad! Well, sort of.” Jellybean said, and Betty’s nerves grew. “Actually, don’t tell Jughead either. He’s just going to go full overprotective brother mode and snitch on me.”

A frown formed on Betty’s face. “I’m making no promises until I have more information.”

_“Fine.”_ Jellybean groaned. “I’m at the comic book store on the South Side, and my friend just ditched me. I was going to catch the bus home because, no offence to people that exercise regularly, but I can _not_ be bothered trying to walk home right now.” She sighed. “The bus doesn’t come for another hour, so I was hoping my favourite sort-of step-sister would be willing to come pick me up?” 

Betty felt amused in spite of herself. “You really shouldn’t be wandering around on the South Side alone right now, JB. Not while the Ghoulies are abducting teenage girls left, right and center.” 

Layla’s face hardened, but her eyes stayed glued to her son.

“I know, _I know._ I’m sorry. I promise it won’t happen again.” Jellybean assured her. “So… can you please come and get me?”

Betty reached into her handbag and started to feel around for her debit card. “Yeah, of course. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

……. 

_When it became clear that Lexi had nothing to do with the production of the sex tape that was filmed from the window outside mine and Betty’s bedroom, Toni told her to leave._

_She gave Louis one final worried look before she hurried outside the Serpent Den._

_I gave Louis a few warning hits with my knuckle-busters while Sweet Pea, Toni, Fangs and Weasel stood by my side in support (all in honour of Betty, of course) so that he’d know I meant business, then moved back to let him confess to his most grievous sin against my family._

_Two thousand dollars. That’s how much my sanity was worth to him._

“I’m trying to get out of this hick town, man. I swear it’s nothing personal.” He practically whimpered. He flinched as Jughead took a step back towards him.

“You’re going to take down that website. Today.” Jughead said, no trace of guilt in his voice. 

Louis closed his eyes for a moment. “I can’t.” He groaned, and moved his hands up to shield his face.

“Oh, but you _will.”_ Jughead stated firmly. “And whatever money you’ve made off of my personal life you’re going to hand over to the Serpents.”

“I swear to God, I can’t!” He said frantically. “It’s not my website! I just sent the video to the girl who paid me.”

“This girl.” Toni said, rage entering her voice. “I don’t think I caught her name. Remind me?”

Louis removed his hands from his face. “I don’t know her name! Please, you have to believe me.” The terror in his eyes was almost pitiful. “She didn’t tell me anything about herself; just mailed me the cash and gave me instructions.” He looked around at the other Serpents in search of help. His face fell when he was met with looks of fury. 

Jughead gripped Louis’ shoulder. “You know, I’m getting real tired of people spying on me and Betty.” Louis looked down at Jughead’s hand. “Been quite a while since I cracked someone’s skull open. Maybe today’s the day I finally get to do it again.”

By _quite a while_ Jughead really meant _never,_ but Louis didn’t need to know that.

Louis clearly didn’t realise that Jughead’s threat was empty. “Please, please don’t kill me. I’ve told you everything. She called me, paid me - and then I did the job. The chick who wanted the video told me what website it was going to be posted on, and I looked through all your online videos. But that’s _it._ Please, I swear…” His scared eyes filled with unshed tears. “Why do you even care this much? You posted your _own_ sex tape online a month later anyway!”

Jughead had a bad feeling that he already knew which girl paid Louis to make another sex tape. His grip on Louis’ shoulder tightened. “How did Ethel and Lexi get those screenshots of the video you made?” 

Louis breathed in a few ragged breaths. “I showed them the website, and they must have made the screenshots themselves.” He looked down at Jughead’s hand again then back into his eyes. “I didn’t know Lexi was going to stick them to Betty’s locker.”

Jughead let his shoulder go. “You heard of a guy named Terry?”

Louis audibly swallowed. “Yeah, he makes weird porn videos.” He rubbed his now-free shoulder with his opposing hand. “I’ve been to his house a few times to watch some Underground Films.”

Jughead crossed his arms over his chest. “Real tapes, like old fashioned VCR recordings, right?” Out of the corner of his eye, he noted that Weasel shifted nervously.

“Yeah, exactly.” Louis nodded. “We’ve swapped videos before… there’s a lot of people who do it. A big group of us; most of them live in Centerville.”

“I want their names.” Jughead said. “You have twenty four hours to give me a list of all the people involved that you can remember.”

“But—”

“Now get out.” Jughead said furiously. _“Leave._ If I ever hear that you’ve filmed anyone else without their knowledge again, _and I will know if you do,_ then you’ll have more than one black eye to deal with.” 

Louis didn’t need to be told twice. He practically ran out of the Serpent Den, and the door slammed behind him.

Jughead let out a long sigh, but the tense air in the room remained as all the Serpents caught their breath.

“Now, what?” Sweet Pea asked cautiously.

“Now,” replied Toni, “Weasel and Termite are going to explain _exactly_ how they came across the tape they ‘found’ on the doorstep of the Serpent Den.” She rounded on them, pure malice in her voice. “You know, the one you two gave to Sweet Pea a few months ago? What was it called again, Jughead?”

Jughead turned to them in anticipation. “Capture the Serpent.”

Weasel and Termite looked at each other, but said nothing.

“You’re both part of this Underground Film group, aren’t you?” Toni asked, though it was more of a statement of fact than an actual question.

Termite’s expression hardened, but Weasel looked upset. 

Jughead was the next to speak. “How did you get that tape of me and Betty at Lover’s Lane?” 

They both stayed silent. 

Jughead glared. “I’ve got all night, guys. And _plenty_ of pent up rage I’d love to dish out.”

Weasel finally cracked. “For fuck’s sake, Termite. Just tell him!”

“Tell me _what,_ Weasel?” Jughead asked. _This is it,_ he thought, _the answers I’ve been waiting for._

“If you don’t, I will. I’m sick of hiding this shit for you.” Weasel’s frustration was clear as he looked at Termite in despair.

Termite stayed silent for another moment.

“Alright, persuasion it is.” Jughead took a threatening step towards Termite and lifted up his fist. “Sweet Pea, grab his arms.”

“Gladly, Jones.” Sweet Pea said as he cracked his knuckles. 

“Okay! Okay.” Termite said, and sighed. “I traded the video with Terry last year.”

Jughead paused. “And how did _he_ get it?”

“I don’t know. _Honestly.”_ Termite said when Jughead scoffed. “The guy has heaps of films like that. Weird ones. _Disturbing ones.”_

“What video did you use to trade?” Toni asked.

Termite flushed red with embarrassment but held his ground. “Me and Old Deuteronomy made a video of us tickling each other. We were high as kites at the time, but Terry really liked it so he traded us your video for it.”

“Why didn’t you give me the video back then?” Jughead asked angrily. “Me and Betty were sixteen at the time it was filmed. You realise that means it’s child pornography, right?”

Termite shook his head. “I didn’t want you to know I had it! It’s fucked up that _he_ even had it, but I figured it was better off in my hands where it couldn’t be seen than if it was left with Terry where other people kept watching it.” He ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “And no, I actually _didn’t_ know that it was child porn. You think I’m that smart, Jones?”

“You got it into NYU, that’s not exactly dumbass territory.” Jughead said frostily. “And it still doesn’t explain why you kept it.”

Weasel cut in. “It’s cause he has a thing for Betty.”

_“Shut up, Weasel!”_ Termite said furiously, looking at his friend in betrayal. 

“Well you _do!”_ Weasel said defensively, then turned to address Jughead. “He kept it safely hidden in his tent because he felt bad for her and didn’t want her to know she had a sex tape floating around Riverdale. Because he _likes_ her.”

Termite’s blush got deeper, but he said nothing.

Sweet Pea placed his hands on his hips like a chastising mother. “What made you decide to leave it on the doorstep of our clubhouse, then.”

Termite gave Weasel a pleading look.

“He didn’t.” Weasel replied. “I only _told_ you we found it there. But really, I convinced him we needed to give it to Jughead after that other sex tape got posted online and spread around school.”

“But you didn’t want me to know you’d been hiding it all this time.” Jughead concluded, his eyes narrowing as he looked back at Termite. The messy web of sex tapes and lies was starting to give him a headache. “So you pretended someone left it on the Serpent’s doorstep so I wouldn’t suspect you had anything to do with it.”

Termite gave Jughead a curt nod. “You should be thanking me. That video could have been dangerous in the wrong hands, especially now that everyone thinks you made the other ones.”

Jughead didn’t know what to say to that. He was still processing the truth of all these sex tapes, _and_ the fact that one of the ex-Gargoyle Serpents had a crush on his girlfriend without him even realising it.

Toni’s phone started to chime, and she huffed as she pulled it out of her pocket and answered the call. “Hey, Grandpa. I’m so sorry but now is really not a good time…” she trailed off, and as her grandfather spoke, her expression turned worried, and then grim… and then panicked. “No… what?” Toni’s voice started to shake, and she drew in a sharp breath. “No, of course. I’ll help. All the Serpents will. I promise.” She hung up, and the fear in her eyes drew Jughead up short. “Whatever you want to do about this is going to have to wait, Jones.”

Sweet Pea rounded on Toni. “What’s going on?”

“My little cousin, _Mercedes…”_ Toni’s voice cracked on the name. “She just got taken by the Ghoulies.”

…… 

Betty parked out the front of the comic book store not a moment too soon, because the second the car was turned off she was forced to wrench open the door and stumble out of her station wagon to throw up the hot dog buns she’d forced into her stomach at Pop’s. She swayed on her feet as she stood up straighter, then decided to sit down in the gutter while her stomach settled.

Jellybean must have seen her pulling up, because only moments later Betty sensed her sitting down at her side. “Jeez, Betty, are you alright?”

Betty took a moment to catch her breath before she answered. “No… I think I might need to go back to hospital.”

“Shit, okay.” Jellybean nodded, and a determined expression came over her face. “Do you want me to call Jug?”

Betty shook her head slowly. “I’ll be okay to drive, I just need a minute.” Her head was pounding and her stomach rolled with nausea. She leaned away from Jellybean and hurled again. 

_“Yikes,_ that doesn’t sound good.” Jellybean cringed as Betty continued to vomit into the gutter.

Betty’s brain clouded, but she managed to stop herself from vomiting more. “I might need you to call Jughead after all.” She closed her eyes as the world started to spin.

But Jellybean was no longer listening. “Betty…” she said, and Betty heard the sudden stress looming in her voice. “Betty, we need to go.”

Betty tried to focus on Jellybean’s face. “Why?” She asked, feeling the nausea building up again.

“We need to go right now.” Jellybean abruptly stood and reached down to grab Betty’s arm. _“Seriously_ Betty get up!” The urgency in her voice penetrated Betty’s foggy mind.

Betty tried to stand, but her stomach wouldn’t cooperate. She was only in a crouched position before she threw up again, and barely missed her own shoes as Jellybean tried to push her towards the station wagon. 

Jellybean managed to get the driver’s side door open, but it was already too late. Betty finally raised her head and saw what was causing Jellybean’s panic.

Two vans - one red and one green - had boxed the station wagon in. Almost immediately upon realising this Betty watched as four Ghoulies wearing skull patterned masks jumped out of the open side-doors.

_“Go, go, go!”_ Jellybean said frantically, and tried her absolute hardest to get Betty in the car - but she wasn’t quick enough.

Betty gripped Jellybean’s hands as the Ghoulie’s descended on them like a herd of lions to a terrified elk. Jellybean screamed as one of them grabbed her by the waist, and another tried to pry her and Betty apart. 

Betty felt a sharp pain in her wrists as Jellybean’s nails dug into her skin, and felt a large hand covering her mouth from behind. She tried desperately to struggle against the Ghoulies, but within seconds Jellybean was ripped from her arms as both girls were dragged into separate vans… 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this might be the first time I’ve ever felt truly evil.
> 
> I hope you won’t be kept in suspense for long. Don’t worry, chapter 20 will be posted... soon.


End file.
